Disturbed Reflections
by CdnChrgr
Summary: When Hiccup's attempts to create peace between the Dragons and the Vikings goes horribly wrong in the kill ring, he and toothless flee for their lives. The last the village heard from the ex-heir was laughing, and a promise for war. Warning, there may be character death. Dark!Hiccup
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) This is my first Fanfic so bear with me, we'll all see how I do.**

 **I Plan on updating weekly and I already have a number of Chapters written for this story so I should be able to keep up. I'll aim to update anywhere from Thursday to Sunday but I am in College right now so no promises. I will also mention that bugging me to update will not make me update faster if I miss a weekend. Sorry.**

 **I Should mention that I got this idea after reading "The boy behind the mask" by IAmTheBrovahkiin. (Very good story, inspired me a lot and even had some good impacts on me in real life, just wish that the author would pick up where they left off again) More specifically the few times when Hiccup lost it. I plan on expanding on that in my own way. The idea may have stemmed from that but so far I have not seen a single Fanfic that goes where I am going so ideas are my own.**

 **Story starts off in the kill ring when Hiccup is trying to show the village Dragon's are friendly.**

 **Constructive criticism is appreciated so don't hold back.**

 **One last thing, I've pretty much made up my mind but I was wondering if Hiccup should lose his leg or not, feel free to give your opinion.**

 **Author Notes should be shorter from now on but without further ado, enjoy.**

 ***-Edit- this story has been re-edited up to 35 to make it more readable.**

 **Chapter 1**

"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!" Stoick bellowed across the arena as he slammed his hammer down on the iron bars of the kill ring.

The Monstrous Nightmare that had been so peaceful in Hiccup's hand seconds before, spooked by the sound of metal on metal, descended into a rage. In an effort to protect itself it tried to kill anything within reach. It just so happened that the only thing that it could possibly kill at that moment was the toothpick of a viking directly in front of it.

Hiccup jumped back and ran for his life as the dragon snapped at him and shot a flaming ball of fire in his direction. It chased him around the arena while up top, Stoick pushed Vikings out of the way in a frantic effort to get to his son.

Astrid, scared for Hiccup's life, yelled out his name in panic. The yell was barely registered in the back of his mind as he continued to dodge claws and fireballs. In an effort to help her new friend, Astrid grabbed an axe off a nearby wall and used it to pry up the kill ring's gate and crawl under it.

Desperate to defend himself, Hiccup ran to the weapons rack to grab a shield, only to have it and the rack smashed under the Nightmare's bulk a second before he could get to it, while up above, Stoick effortlessly yanked open the outer gate and charged to the second.

Back in the ring, Astrid yelled Hiccup's name once again as she glanced at the destroyed weapons rack. She ran over to it, picked up a hammer and threw it at the pursuing dragon, landing a direct hit to the dragon's face, seconds before it would have scooped Hiccup up in his jaw. The Nightmare landed in a pile of tangled limbs, but quickly recovered. It changed targets and ran after the more dangerous of the two Vikings in the arena.

Seeing that it was now her life in danger instead of Hiccup's, Astrid ran as Stoick ripped open the second gate and called to the two teens "This way!"

Astrid managed to make it safely to the Chief's awaiting embrace, but before Hiccup had a chance, the Nightmare let out a blast of fire that blocked the exit.

Frantic for an escape, Hiccup turned to run once again, only to be hit with a swipe from the Nightmare's claws. Three long gashes opened up along Hiccup's chest, starting from the left shoulder and running down to the right side of his stomach and blood started to poor from the wounds, quickly soaking his shirt through. As he came to a painful rest on the ground, the claw of the Nightmare landed on him and pressed him into the stone floor.

Hiccup stared up at the leering form above him. There was nothing he or anybody else could do. This was the end.

A shriek pierced the air above the Vikings. A worried Gobber, who was watching the fight from above turned to face the new sound as a black blur blew apart the iron bars separating them from the ring, throwing smoke and dust throughout the arena.

Vikings watched in awe, only the wings of the combating pair were visible through the debris.

Toothless clawed his way onto the Nightmare's back and threw it off of the bleeding Hiccup. The two dragons became visible to the Vikings above as their fight was driven clear of the dust.

Gobber, who was still trying to understand what was going on whispered to himself, "Night Fury."

The two dragons continued to fight. The Nightmare, using his superior size, managed to throw the Night Fury to the ground and began to bite at Toothless' neck. Toothless in turn, swatted his opponents head away and used his powerful legs to kick the Nightmare back against a wall as the last of the debris settled, revealing a bleeding Hiccup slowly getting to his feet.

The Nightmare roared at Toothless, hoping to scare him off. Toothless answered the challenge without backing down while also making sure he was firmly between Hiccup and the Nightmare. The Nightmare continued to try and get at the boy as the village watched on in awe. Each time the Nightmare attempted to, the Night Fury was there to cut him off. With a final display of dominance from Toothless, the Nightmare surrendered and retreated back to his cage.

Hiccup scrambled to his friend's side as the village recovered and began to pour into the arena. Knowing what would be in store for the Night Fury if he was captured, Hiccup jumped into the saddle and took off back through the hole in the arena.

The two landed on the roof of the dome and stared down at the Vikings. Stoick made his way to the center of the group and looked up to his son. "Get away from that beast!" he called out.

"No I'm ending this, right here, right now! This is what it is to have a dragon's loyalty! Toothless was safe. He was living life happily, yet he came here and risked his own safety to save me. He's my best friend and I'm his. None of you has ever had my back, but Toothless, a dragon, has mine!"

Stoick couldn't believe what he was seeing. The dragons had taken so much from him and the village. A dragon had carried off his wife, Hiccup's own mother. Yet here he was riding one of the blasted beasts like it was some sort of pony. As he looked up he could see the three slices in his son's shirt and the rapidly spreading blood stain on his chest. His son should hate the dragons for everything they had done.

"What are ye sayin? A dragon has no sense of loyalty. Their mindless beasts. Ya saw how the Nightmare went after ya the first chance it got!" Stoick yelled back. "What happened today was a fluke. When push comes to shove, that dragon will stab ya in tha back!"

"THIS IS NOT A FLUKE! I have been interacting with dragons, learning from them, befriending them ever since you left for the Nest. The dragons are kind and compassionate when you get to know them. We can make friends with them if we give them a chance!"

"THERE WILL BE NO CHANCES GIVEN TO THE DEMONS! THERE BLOODTHIRSTY ANIMALS THAT WILL KILL US THE SECOND WE GIVE THEM ONE!" At this point Stoick was relying on years of being a Chief, rather than the limited experience he had as a father, "YOU'VE THROWN YER LOT IN WITH THEM! YER NOT A VIKING! YER NOT MY SON!"

Those words hit hard. Siting there, bleeding, Hiccup felt his father's disappointment. Those last eight words hurt more than 15 years of abuse from his peers. He looked at his father and felt something shatter in his mentality. He thought of Stoick and how he had neglected and starved him of love his whole childhood and he felt hatred towards the Chief. He thought of the villagers and how they avoided him like the plague and felt resentment towards them. He thought of his fellow classmates and how they had always called him useless and shoved him around and he felt bitterness.

The village froze as they saw the bloodied teenager throw his head bock towards the sky and heard him start to laugh. Quiet at first but growing more and more uncontrollable by the minute. He looked down at them and shouted, "YOU FOOLS! I TRIED TO BRING PEACE TO THIS ISLAND BUT YOUR SPURN IT! IF YOU WANT THIS WAR THEN I WILL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT!"

Turning away from the Vikings below the pair rose up into the sky until the were but a small speck to the naked eye. Then the speck plummeted, accompanied by the feared Night Fury shriek. The two pulled up at the last second while releasing the plasma blast. It was I direct hit upon the Chief's house, Hiccup's home for 15 years. The shot penetrated deep into the structure, blowing straight through and sending shrapnel flying everywhere and leaving the building to collapse in on itself moments later.

Hiccup used the speed they had gathered to race out over the sea, leaving stunned Vikings in their wake.

As the adrenaline in his body started to subside, the pain from his new wound and weakness from blood loss came racing into his reality. Shaking, he turned to look at his ex-village one last time before drifting off into unconsciousness.

Stoick watched, stunned as Hiccup destroyed his home and took off out to sea. He recounted the events that had led to this moment as he slowly walked to the shoreline. The villagers, not knowing what else to do followed their Chief. Stoick realized what he had done and his limbs began to shake. With Hiccup gone, it would be almost impossible to fix it, if his son even had it in him to forgive him for what he had done.

His feet hit the water and he stopped. Slowly he dropped to his knees and muttered, "What have I done?"

Gobber slowly walked up behind him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but the Chief just continued to stare at the horizon, not bothering to even look up at his friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N) krisisk369- You have no idea**

 **Longer chapter this time, going to aim for around 1500 words from now on**

 **Have fun reading** **J**

 **Chapter 2**

Slowly, the village began to dissipate from the water's edge, leaving only Gobber and the Chief staring off into the sunset. Most made their way to the Mead Hall, not knowing what else to do. People were chatting nervously to one another, wondering what their future was going to be like now with the heir gone. If the Chief passed on, the most logical place for the Chieftainship to fall wold be Spitelout. That wouldn't be too bad, but that also meant Snotlout would be Chief one day. Nobody knew if that was a better option than Hiccup, but at least he looked like a Viking.

The anxious chatter would have continued on had not someone shouted out, "We got all this food 'ere set out ta eat! The old nuisance is gone along with his dragon ridin ways! I Think I speak with tha lot of us when I say let's raise a tankard a shout good riddance!" A few uneasy "Aye's" answered the call and soon mead was being poured out to all, and slowly, the party quickly gained traction as people drank more and more mead. Spitlout could even be seen toasting the Lout family's good luck now that the heir to Berk was out of the way.

"Did you see the way Hiccup was riding that dragon?" Tuffnutt asked his class as they all sat at one of the table's in the hall, taking in the festivities going on around them. "It was so cool. I want one."

"Ya, it be so awesome to blow stuff up with one!" his twin Ruffnutt agreed.

"Guys, do you hear what your saying?" Snotlout exclaimed, "Did you see how mad the Chief was? From the sounds of it, Hiccup isn't welcome back. But there is some good news." Snotlout turned to Astrid with a smug grin on his face. "The word's out, I'm going to be Chief someday. Wouldn't you just love to get all this plus be the wife of the Chief some day Astrid?" he suggested as he flexed his muscles. Which only earned him a punch to the face. "Ow" he weakly gasped while lying on his back.

"Your never, going to get this." Astrid spoke while gesturing to herself. "And you'll never even be half the Chief Hiccup would be."

Shocked, everyone turned their attention to Astrid.

"Your defending the twig?" Snotlout asked as he sat back down while rubbing his nose.

"Ya, you never gave him the time of day before." Tuffnutt supplied. "Although I suppose he wouldn't need to ask considering he could just look at the daymarks **[1]**."

"He could however ask for the time if we had a more accurate time measurement system." Ruffnutt added.

"Your right dear sister! Ok, imagine this… A circle, with a Triangle on top of it! We hold it up to the sun and we tell time by the position of the shadow that the triangle makes!"

"Or…" Ruffnutt continued, "Two levers, moving around a circle at a set pace. One to track long periods of time, and one to track shorter periods of time! Then all we'd need to do is put numbers on the circle and you'd tell the time according to where the levers were!"

"Brilliant!" Tuffnutt shouted, "Let's get Hiccup working on this right- oh." Tuffnutt sighed. "Ya, I guess things are going to be a little boring without him now. No new rogue inventions to cause havoc anymore."

"Ya, bummer." Ruffnutt agreed.

"Ya, ya." Snotlout interrupted, "Hiccup's gone, boo hoo. Good riddance if you ask me. Can we get back to the real question now?" Snotlout asked as he turned to face Astrid, "You honestly think Hiccup could do a better job at being Chief than I could? Have you seen him? He doesn't even look like a Viking!"

Astrid narrowed her eyes, "There's more to being a Chief than looking like a Viking!"

"Ya, like what? What could the people of Berk want more than this as their Chief?"

"Well for one, a Chief has to be smart."

"And brave." Tuffnutt supplied.

"Charismatic." Ruffnutt interjected.

"Loyal." Fishlegs piped up.

"I'm all of those and so much more." Snotlout defended

"Hah! You were the first one yell out in a panic when Gobber let that first Gronkle out." Tuffnutt laughed.

"Ya, and no one has ever accused you of having to much brain power." Ruffnutt continued.

"Not to mention that your Charisma skills are only at 37% of what is needed of a good Chief." Fishlegs offered.

"And the only thing your loyal too is your muscles." Astrid finished.

"Well you don't see Hiccup doing any better."

"Well, he's got smarts, is brave and loyal, all he would really need is to boost his Charisma. A little confidence boost, some lessons from his dad and a reason for the village to follow him would likely fix that." Fishlegs answered.

"I can see where you might get the smart thing from, but where do you get brave and loyal out of him?"

"Well, he did face down a Night Fury and managed to befriend it by himself. You know the creature that's the offspring of lightning and death itself." Astrid offered.

"Plus, he's stayed loyal to the village all these years. The only question is, have his loyalties shifted after recent events?" Fishlegs asked himself in particular.

"Whatever, I'm still going to be Chief. Just you wait, Stoick will announce it. It's my birthright now."

"You might not have a village to chief, Snotlout." This from the burly Fishlegs.

This brought everyone's attention to him and he shrank back a little.

"Go on…" Astrid pressed.

"Well do you remember Hiccup's threat?" he weakly put forth.

"Hah, I could snap that twig with my pinky finger!" Snotlout answered.

"Maybe so but did you see the look in his eye? It looked like he was ready to kill." Fishlegs retorted, "And though he isn't very strong he does ride a Night Fury and though I haven't seen it very much in action, I think it's safe to say that the Night Fury has at least a speed of 20 and a jaw strength of 6. And like I said, his loyalties may have shifted. Astrid, you once told him to figure out which side he's on. I think he's chosen his side. That may just be what brings Berk to it's knees."

The group stared at him.

"Just saying." He said. "And we all know Hiccup is smart. If he can control the dragons than it's not unreasonable to think that the attacks could get more devastating."

"Impossible." Astrid put forth "We all know Hiccup, though he may be gone from Berk, he has never been malicious. He's been patient and kind. And Toothless is-"

"Toothless?" Snotlout asked.

"Uhhh…"

"Wait, wasn't that what Hiccup called the dragon?" Tuffnutt probed.

"Hold on, now not only are you defending Hiccup, but his dragon as well?" Snotlout accused.

"No… yes… maybe? Ok, look. I caught Hiccup and Toothless getting ready to go on a flight yesterday. They took me with them and I got to see another side to them. I saw in Hiccup something that could change this village for the better. Imagine a Berk where there was no war with the dragons… just peace and Vikings and dragons working side by side."

"Wait, so you actually rode a dragon!" Ruffnutt exclaimed.

"What was it like!" Tuffnutt excitedly put forth.

"It was amazing. You felt weightless and free. Berk looked like a child's play thing and all responsibility seemed to disappear."

"As cool as that sounds, have you considered Hiccup's position?" Fishlegs tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"Ya, he's out having awesome adventures on the back of a Night Fury of all things while were stuck here fighting dragons." Tuffnutt put forth. "Hiccup always gets the more exiting things in life. He gets to work in the forge and use it to blow up the village. He get's an amazing scar courtesy of a Nightmare, he gets to ride a Night Fury around the world. We have to rely on stampeding sheep through town to cause chaos."

"No, I mean look at the way we've treated him the last few years. He's been shunned and alone. Every time he tried to help it only caused trouble, which made people mad at him. We've all picked on him and shoved him around. And then there's yesterday… Hiccup was hurt, bleeding and possibly in shock. The village was trying to kill his best and probably only friend. On top of that his father, the chief, not only publicly shammed him, but outright disowned him. Did you see the rage in his eyes after he started laughing, I think he might have snapped."

"Hiccup is stronger than that, isn't he?" Astrid asked nervously? He may be a little angry right now. He might not ever come back to Berk even. But the boy she had seen the night before. He was still there, was he not?

"I don't know, all I know is that Hiccup is visibly mad at the village, possibly insane and probably in control of the worlds most destructive force. We have to consider the possibility that he may be a legitimate threat now."

The group stared at Fishlegs in silence.

Snotlout shuddered, "Maybe we shouldn't think about him for a while."

Fishlegs was in his element in a debate and he was now addressing the group with confidence. "If Hiccup is still out there and survived his injuries, we may have to think about it. If he attacks us, how are we going to stop him?"

o~0~O~0~o

Even with his tail locked up because of the comatose rider on his back, Toothless flew out over the sea. He was as anxious to get away as Hiccup was. He had sensed the resentment the boy had for the Vikings as they left, blowing up the Chief's house was a suitable punishment he supposed… for now. The two of them would be back. He was sure of it. The Vikings would pay for what they did to his rider. What type of people would lock a hatchling up like that with a Monstrous Nightmare of all things?

Toothless flew for about a half hour, making sure Hiccup was still stable on the saddle all the way, before finally spotting a small island down below. It had a few trees and grass, but was small enough that it wouldn't be home to anything but birds. It was perfect for now. He just needed to get on the ground long enough to care for his rider.

Toothless tried waking the boy to no avail. Even a light smack with his ear plate didn't wake him up which worried him some. So, he settled with what control he did have. Very carefully and slowly he maneuvered himself over the island with the half of his tail that was still functional. When he was in position he just folded his wings and fell.

The sensation of falling would have been exhilarating for the dragon, had not keeping Hiccup on his back been a priority. As the wind flew over the two, Hiccup was forced back, the pain erupting in his torn chest snapped the boy back into groggy reality.

Hiccup's panic spurred him on as he instinctively tried to pull the two of them up, but he found he didn't have the energy to do so. So instead, he did his best to control their decent to the island below. His wound, which continued to leak blood, screamed in pain during the whole flight down.

Hiccup grimaced through the pain as they made a rough landing. Instantly, Toothless worked to get Hiccup off his back, pinned him to the ground and ripped his shirt off. Then, he began to lick his rider's wounds profusely. The blood tasted bitter and Toothless wished that he could stop, but he continued on, even as Hiccup wailed in pain and begged for the dragon to stop. He didn't however. Toothless knew that if he did stop, his rider would die. So, he ignored his him and continued to cover the wound in dragon saliva. After a couple minutes of licking, the blood had mixed with the slobber to create a thick coat of pinkish goo that worked to numb the pain, stop the bleeding and encourage the healing process.

Even still, his rider was in agony and would be for sometime. So, when his rider had no energy to get up after his treatment, Toothless couldn't blame him and instead, placed a comforting wing over his rider and attempted to ease him into sleep.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup awoke in confusion and darkness. He tried to sit up, but his chest only cried out in pain. That's when he remembered the fight in the kill ring, the slash from the Nightmare's claw and the hasty retreat from Berk.

He tried to at least reach out to the darkness but even that made him cry out in pain. 'Am I dead?' He wondered silently to himself.

The darkness moved and the sun shone in his face, making him squint in pain against the light. "Nope, definitely still alive." Toothless' worried face quickly blocked out the sun however and eased the dull ache in the back of his head somewhat.

"Hey bud." he coughed.

The dragon only whined and gently nudged him into a sitting position. Hiccup had no idea how long he'd been asleep for, but from the stiffness in his bones and how parched his mouth was, he'd bet that it had been quite a while.

He gently touched his chest with his hand. It was crusted over with what he could only guess was dragon spit that had been applied many times. As disgusting as it was, the three marks on his chest were looking much better than he had a right to expect. The skin was still swollen and red. There would be a deep scar there for the rest of his life. But it didn't look like he'd die from it anytime soon.

Looking around, he grabbed at his torn shirt that had been left in the dirt ever since they landed and slowly crawled over to the ocean. Toothless faithfully followed the boy into the water until his rider was up to his neck. His wound started stinging the second the water came into contact with the raw skin and made him grunt in pain. Toothless whined at his rider's obvious discomforts, but Hiccup continued on, using the rags to dab at his wound. The salt water sure didn't feel nice, but he wasn't yet sure how effective Toothless' spit was, so this was at least getting rid of any infection that might have seeped in.

An explosion of water erupted behind Hiccup, scarring the crap out of him. He turned to see Toothless in the water, innocently holding a small creature in his mouth. Usually Toothless' protective nature was annoying but right now Hiccup was glad for it.

It was a two headed blue dragon with spikes that ran down each back before melding into one tail. The dragon had small wings but no arms or feet. There were two fins that stuck out of each neck and shocks of electricity seemed to travel back and forth between each head.

Hiccup did not know what the dragon was, but he was able to figure out why it was here. Blood. He should have figured, he probably smelt like a wounded animal, easy food for anything that might be in the water. But still, it hadn't attacked Hiccup. The dragon could have fried them both had it wanted to before either he or Toothless had known it was there. It was probably just curious.

As quick as he could he went for the beach. The sooner he was out of the water the better off he would be. Toothless followed with the dragon still wriggling around in his mouth, clearly intent on eating his catch.

"Toothless, don't you dare eat that. I promise we'll go fishing later."

Grumbling Toothless placed the dragon back in the water, the two heads giving Hiccup a curious glance as it was lowered in. With a quick shake of it's tail the strange creature was gone.

Hiccup grabbed the remains of his tunic and tore it into strips. He then went to the water's edge to clean the blood off them the best he could.

He looked down at his reflection as he washed the strips. What he saw confused him. He clearly saw a human starring back at him, he recognized it like the back of his hand, even with the ripples and waves disturbing the image. He knew who it was, but all he could do was laugh at the ideas the boys had. Vikings and dragon's living together. That was impossible. Vikings were not willing to change. They were stuck in their ways. They would have to go in order for there to be peace.

Satisfied the strips were clean, he wrapped them tightly across his chest. Not a perfect patch up job but it would keep him alive.

Sitting down next to a tree, Hiccup watched Toothless light a small fire on a pile of sticks the dragon had dragged over. He had seen the boy do it once before to cook a fish, just before a flock of Terrible Terrors flew in. 'Pesky little things.' Toothless thought to himself.

Reasonably convinced he wasn't going to die and with a fire burning strong Hiccup sat back and thought about what to do next. His best friend settled down beside him and got comfortable. He had dragged over a small tree he had ripped out of the ground and started to chew on it. To the resting boy, his friend looked cute while happily gnawing away. Smiling, Hiccup reached out and started to scratch the dragon under his chin. Toothless started to purr contently and lulled his rider back to sleep.

 **[1] Vikings didn't actually use clocks as we know them today. They had no use for precise time measurement as we do and relied instead on the sun to tell them a rough time instead. However, just relying on the sun's position in the sky and whether or not it was setting or rising wasn't always helpful either, as they were far enough North that the sun didn't always set. This even happens in race to the edge once, although I can't remember what episode it was. So, instead, they tracked the sun's path through the sky and lined it up with eight landmarks on the horizon, or Daymarks, and tracked a rough estimate of what time it was based on which landmark the sun was hovering over.**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N) Have fun reading and please review** **:)**

 **Chapter 3**

Stoic was standing in the midst of his smouldering house. Pieces of the building were scattered everywhere. Later on, someone would find a melted mace that had been flung more than 100 feet from the ruin. All that was left was a few sections of the stone foundation and a caved in fire place. The cauldron which had been placed on the hearth had smashed though the back of it and lay dented and torn a good 40 feet away, tearing a deep trench through the earth as it ground to a halt.

The Chief looked around, there was nothing left. The threshold that he had carried his dear Val across when the were first married was charred beyond recognition. The table that he and Hiccup had eaten around silently countless times was nowhere to be seen. The room that Valka had been taken from and which Hiccup had slept for 15 years had been blown away. The reminder of so many memories, bad, awkward and occasionally sweet were gone. He knew he would never rebuild the home. There were too many memories associated with it and no one to share it with. He'd probably just end up staying in the mead hall, it was closer to his work anyways.

Stoics attention was momentarily distracted by movement in the corner of his eye. He looked down to see a piece of paper caught underneath a beam, the edges of the page slightly burnt. He slowly stooped down and picked up the page, what he saw took his breath away.

It was obviously a self portrait. Hiccup's face was expertly drawn by the boy. But it was the creature beside him that stoic's attention was momentarily drawn to. The Night Fury beside him looked playful, almost cute.

Stoic thought back to the painful memories of the kill ring. He remembered how the beast had charged head on into danger. It had forced itself into the caged ring surrounded by Vikings to do the one thing that it was impossible for the Chief to do, save his son. That boy had the dragon's loyalty, he knew. It had probably treated the boy better than anybody in this village had, and it was a dragon. Their supposed mortal enemy.

Stoic turned his attention back to Hiccups face. It looked so kind and inquisitive. Why hadn't he tried to get to know the lad better. Why had he shrugged him off on Gobber like he was useless. Blast that name, "Hiccup the useless" why had he let that title catch on so easily.

A rare tear rolled down Stoics cheek as he whispered "I'm sorry Hiccup." The Chief fell to his knees amidst the carnage and held the drawing close to chest. "I'm sorry fer not being a better father, fr letting my rage get the better of me. I'm sorry fer driving ya away."

A beam of light and the sound of laughter caught his attention as the doors of the Great Hall opened to let a small group of drunken Vikings out.

Leaving the pile of smouldering ruins, Stoick made his way over to the Hall and pushed his way through the doors.

The sight astounded him and he had to take a step back to regain his composure. It was a full blown party!

"Aye, Stoick!" Someone drunkenly called out, "Looks like tha -Hic- villages future is lookin' pretty bright. -Hic-"

"Aye." Someone else replied, not realizing it wasn't them who had been addressed, "Seems to me tha's what they should'a done ta begin with!"

"Do what!" Stoick demanded, "Who's doin' what!"

"Why, -Hic- there makin' Snotlout heir!" a Viking answered with a role of the eyes as if it was common knowledge, which by this point it probably was."

"SAYS WHO!" Stoick roared, silencing the crowd.

"Aye, Stoick!" Someone near the head of the great table called out, "Nice of ya to join us fer tha celebration! Grab a tankard a mead an enjoy yerslelf!"

Stoick followed the sound to the source, only to see Spitelout holding out a mug for him. "An what, exactly are we celebratin'?" Stoick asked with a voice that could freeze the blood of a Wholly Howl as he started walking over to his brother in law.

"Why, me son becoming tha heir to tha throne, what else?" Spitelout answered, too drunk to recognize the warning signs.

"An what makes you think its time to start celebrating?"

"Well, tha' useless fishbone son a yours is gone, right?" Spitelout laughed, "That makes Snotlout next in line ta be Chief. Oh, what a glorious day it'll be." Snotlout turned to the crowd, "WITH THE JORGENSON'S RUNNIN' THINGS, BERK 'LL BE LED INTA A NEW GOLDEN AGE!" A cheer rang up from the crowd of those too drunk to realize how furious the Chief was. Smiling, Spitelout turned back to his brother in law, only to receive a solid punch to the jaw.

Rubbing his bruised knuckles, Stoick stared down at the Jorgenson lying unconscious on the floor, "As long as Hiccup is alive, no Jorgenson will sit on my throne, not if I have anythin' ta say about it."

o~0~O~0~o

A black blur whizzed pass a flock of wild Nadders, scarring the dragons into the air. Nearly a week had passed since the incident at the village and Hiccup was glad to get back into the air. The two were flying through fog so thick it was impossible to see more than 20 feet. That didn't stop him from flying at break neck speeds through the rock outcrops dotting the shores of the island. Toothless knew what was coming, and Hiccup trusted Toothless completely.

The wound on his chest was a nuisance at the moment, a slight pain as he rocked back and forth with Toothless through the skies. Toothless' daily saliva baths and constant dips in the ocean had helped it heal tremendously. The claw marks would make a great scar he mussed. What was it Astrid always said? "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it." The boy rolled his eyes and murmured, "Pain… Love it."

After a week on the island Hiccup had felt strong enough to enact his plan. He quickly wrote a message down using charcoal from the fire toothless had lit many times and a piece of his old shirt turned bandages. He weighted it down with a rock and then tucked it into his pants. With everything set he jumped on Toothless' back and flew out over the sea.

o~0~O~0~o

The Chief strode confidently through his village, and with good reason as well. As the leader of the outcasts, Alvin the Treacherous was strong and cunning, for his kind anyways. Many of the villagers didn't even look up as he strode through the village for fear of him. One wrong look at him or his entourage and this man would easily have you ground into dragon feed.

Everything was right in his world, until a rock fell out of the sky and struck the helmet of his second in command, Savage. The Outcast was out like a light. "What the..." he drawled. Not giving the passed out man a second glance, he picked up the rock and noticed there was a rag tied to it. "well let us see what we have here."

He opened the cloth to see that one word had been hastily written, "Parley" it read.

"Alright." He aggressively called out. "Out with ye. Let's hear what ye have to say."

Out of the mist a black head with two green eyes revealed itself. The dragon had his head held high as he walked forward. The Outcasts, except for Alvin who stood his ground, gasped and reached for their weapons as they saw the infamous Night Fury stalk towards them with a low growl.

"We come in peace." they heard a boy command as he came into view.

Alvin looked the boy up and down. He had auburn hair, was pale with freckles and wore no shirt but instead blood soaked rags were wrapped tightly across he chest. The boy was skinny but he could barely make out the toned muscle underneath the boy's skin and calloused hands. He was brave for setting foot on outcast island, he'd give the boy that, but there was something else about the figure that struck Alvin as odd. Through the crazy glint in his eye Alvin could see the cold cunningness flow through the boy's mind. Though not physically a threat Alvin made a mental note to keep an eye on the lad.

"State your name and your business." Alvin called out coldly.

"Formerly Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third" he answered, "Now just Hiccup."

The boy sure does have guts Alvin thought to himself. If there was one clan he hated more than any other it was that of the Haddocks.

"And what's the heir to Berk doing so far from home and all alone?" he chuckled.

"That's ex-heir and now exiled." He replied. Alvin was taken back mildly in surprise. "I come seeking an alliance seeing as we seek the same goal."

"An what Goal would that be?"

"The destruction of Berk." Hiccup laughed.

Alvin raised an eye, "Now that's a mighty interestin proposition, but what do ye have to offer an alliance with considering yer now exiled?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hiccup shrugged and gestured to the dragon. "I have a Night Fury. On top of that I can keep any dragon your having a problem with out of your hair."

"I was wondering about that beast your riding there. You can control them?"

"Control wouldn't be the word I'd use. I can relate with them, earn their loyalty and direct them, nothing more."

"An what would I have to do to gain your support?"

"Easy, make me into a warrior and give me unrestricted access to a forge and metal if and when I need it. I'd need a place to stay as well, somewhere that's easy to get to the village but far enough away to keep the dragons away from there. It wouldn't do if someone decides to hold a grudge against them. Oh, it might go without saying but I think it would be within both of our best interests if nobody knew about me and you being together."

"Alvin thought carefully for a moment. Vikings and dragons had been at war for centuries. He didn't know if he could quite trust them. On the other hand, Alvin hated Stoic, the man who had banished him. Using his own son against the Chief would be pure poetry.

"Will this be a permanent arrangement, or just until Berk is gone?"

"I might go on some flights around the archipelago, making me pretty scarce at times, but I can see us being on friendly terms until the bitter end." The teen smiled.

The Chief took in the teens face. He didn't like the shrewd look in the lad's eyes or his calmness around the beasts. However, the boy didn't seem particularly power hungry, he just wanted revenge. Still, he should be watched.

"Ya know lad…" Hiccup held his breath. "I think ya got yerself a deal."

Alvin held out a hand. Hiccup got off of toothless and boldly stepped forward. He grasped Alvin's hand and shook.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hiccup had been the talk of the village for the past week. Rumors about the lad had been spreading like wild fire around the village. The Thornton's had come up with the idea that Hiccup was building an army of dragons, the Ingraham's figured he'd wreck havoc on the town from the shadows while the Jorgensen's held the opinion (and secretly hoped, though they'd never let the chief know that) that the ex-heir had died from his injuries. And that was just a few of the ideas swirling around the village.

Stoic was poised at the front of the mead hall with a small group of Vikings standing around him. He spoke with a commanding tone.

"As you all know Hiccup has appeared to have taken a side with the dragons." A murmur rose throughout the crowd. "Now quiet down, I want to discuss the threat he ushered to us just before he took off. Is there any reason any of us can think of that he may actually be something that we should be worried about?"

Though he didn't show it, the thought was crushing the Chief from the inside out. Hiccup, his son, an enemy of Berk. How could his son go from hero and heir of the tribe to public enemy number one in the matter of a day?

"Hah, I could snap the twig in half without even trying." Spitelout boasted. "If it was my son who turned then maybe I would raise an eyebrow."

"Ah your full of it." Gobber replied. "Snotlout doesn't have a shred of courage in his bones and an even smaller amount a brains to compliment it. And you'd be surprised at Hiccup's abilities. He's been working in me forge since he was little… well little-er. He may be small but he's strong for his size. It wouldn't surprise me if he never lashed out at his peers because it wasn't in his nature."

"Aye." Thrain Ingerman rang out. "And he's got a bloody Night Fury under his command, plus it would seem he can control any of the beasts he so desires. Did you see the way he behaved in the ring? He had the Gronkle rolling on the ground in bliss, the Nadder was out like a light with the wave of a hand and the Zippleback cowered in his presence. Even the Monstrous Nightmare seemed pretty tame until the sound of Stoick's hammer rang out."

"That's if the pip-squeak even survived, did you see how much blood was pouring out a that boy's wounds?" Spitelout put forth, eager to regain some face.

"Did you hear Hiccup laughing on the top of that beast?" Sigehere Thorsten pointed out. "He sounded like he had lost it. And the way he spoke to us afterwards, it was enough to send chills down even my spine, and I have to put up with tha twins at home."

"The question remains, is Hiccup a person we should fear and prepare against?" Stoic asked. The Chief looked around at the faces of his fellow Vikings. None of them looked him in the eye as Gobber replied…

"Aye… if the lad has indeed snapped, I think it is in our best interests ta fear him."

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup and Toothless were down in a cove, standing by the water's edge. The boy was looking out over the ocean towards Berk, lost in thought. He glanced down to where his friend was lying beside him, chewing on a stick he had snapped off a nearby tree.

"I wonder what everyone's thinking, eh bud? There probably laughing their butts off at me. 'Hiccup the Useless is coming to bring Berk to its knees.'" The thought of his weakness sickened him.

Toothless turned his head toward the boy and gave a sympathetic croon. He hated seeing Hiccup so distressed like this.

"The Outcasts aren't much better. Sure they treat me fine. They gave me a house and set all the dragons in their cages free, but they see me more as a tool than a person."

This time the dragon snorted in annoyance. Sure the strange people that smelled as if they hadn't cleaned themselves for a year, which was most likely true, gave him fish and didn't try to kill him, but he didn't trust them.

The house that Hiccup had spoken of was up on a hill away from the village. The hill itself had been nicknamed "Dragon's Volcano" after a Whispering Death had inadvertently dug a tunnel that allowed lava to seep to the surface nearby. Although extremely barren and covered in black rock, like most of the island, the lava spewing up from below kept the place heated and it wasn't long before they found the nice quiet and peaceful cove down below where they were standing right now.

The house was old and previously unused, but it served its purpose. Hiccup could live in comfort reasonably close to civilization, if you could call it that, while being far enough away that the dragon's Hiccup surrounded himself with wouldn't cause any trouble for the Outcasts. Most of them still weren't used to having a truce with the creatures, but a select few saw the opportunities that arose from having them as an ally.

The dragon's had come mostly from the underground cages in Alvin's dungeon. The dungeon itself had been carved out of an old lava tube that Alvin had deemed safe enough for prisoners.

When Hiccup had first gone down into the tube the whole village had come down to watch, eager to see a young boy get himself killed. He had said something about complete silence before he let himself into a particularly large cage with five Nadders, two Zipplebacks and a Monstrous Nightmare. The Outcasts watched silently as the dragons closed in around him, yet the boy held his ground, unarmed and without the protection of his dragon. Hiccup had chosen to leave Night Fury on the outside of the cage in case the dragon got too protective.

The Night Fury, who had large open area around him in the crowd of people, gave a warning snarl as a Zippleback came within 2 feet of the boy. A couple people gasped as Hiccup simply turned his back on the dragon and offered out a hand. "What's he doin?" a voice called out, stealing the attention of the Zippleback for a couple seconds. Annoyed at the interruption, Hiccup sent a death stare into the crowd. A thunk was heard near the back as someone knocked the offending viking out cold.

Able to get back to business, Hiccup again turned to the task at hand. Two of the Nadders and the Monstrous Nightmare had also slunk up to the young Viking at this point. Yet the dragon's never attacked as one by one they offered the boy their snout. Before long the boy was opening up the cage and letting the dragons out.

The crowd parted, giving the creatures some room as a few kids ran screaming and the men grabbed for their weapons.

"Don't you dare touch those blades unless you want to invite a blood bath." Hiccup calmly told the crowd before turning his attention to the next cage.

There was nothing too exotic, several Nadders and Zipplebacks, as well as a few Gronkles and three or four Monstrous Nightmares. There was also four Whispering Deaths, a Changewing and a Scauldron. The Whispering deaths had been difficult, but not impossible to train. He almost lost a limb and provided the crowd with some entertainment but things had worked out well in the end. It had taken a little longer to gain the Scauldron's trust, but Hiccup had soon found that if he gave it some water it was happy. The Changewing he was still working on.

By the end of that day Hiccup had every dragon in the dungeon, except the Changewing, freed, fed and on Dragon's Volcano, away from any potential problems between the dragons and the villagers he knew were sure to arise. So far it had only been him up on the hill, nobody down in the village below, not even Alvin, had been brave enough to come up to where the 27 ex-captive dragons were dozing and fishing.

Down in the Village Hiccup had always been accompanied by Toothless, none of the other dragons trusted the Outcasts enough to follow him, but the Night Fury faithfully stuck by his best friend's side. People always gave them a wide berth as he conducted his business, not wanting to anger the dragon following the boy, something Hiccup was secretly pleased about. Nobody would beat him up or make fun of him if they all stayed as far away as possible, not that they could with Toothless near by.

Hiccup continued staring out sea, deep in thought, until he noticed a disturbance in the water of the cove. It was small, but too large to be fish. The movement caught the eyes of the dragon standing beside him as well and encouraged the Night Fury to move into a defensive position, a menacing growl escaping his lips.

A strange grouping of spikes arose from the surface of the water and two heads poked out from below. Curious, Hiccup raised his hand to Toothless. "Easy bud." He called as he tentatively took a step into the water. The dragon stopped growling but still didn't let his guard down.

As he got closer Hiccup recognized the shape of the creature in the water. His suspicions confirmed when he saw a familiar shape on the creatures back, scars from a certain black dragon on the shore. He had done some checking since he had last saw this dragon and had discovered that it was a Sea Shocker, a dragon that used electricity to stun or kill pray and eat it.

"Hey, you followed us did you?"

The water dragon slowly came forth as Hiccup held out both of his hands. A shot of electricity ran between the two heads and Hiccup felt the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. Hiccup turned his head and held his ground, knowing all to well that all the dragon had to do was lower its heads below the water to be able to kill everything in the cove. On the shore Toothless was growing anxious and whined nervously.

Then Hiccup felt the familiar sensation of dragon scales in his hand, however a numbing but not unpleasant sensation was flowing through his body as well. Hiccup chanced a quick look towards the Sea Shocker to see the two heads had offered him their trust and were sending small electrical charges up his arms.

"Well, hello to you too."


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N) We did not meet the goal I had for the early upload, but I'm feeling nice today. I don't think I'll make an early upload goal again but if I'm feeling nice... or board, I might upload on Wednesdays again in the future. Also I'm kind of exited about this chapter and wanted to get it out.**

 **Have fun reading and please review, I love reading them.**

 **Chapter 5**

The woman watched in silent awe as she spotted the trio moving through the clouds from her mountain top perch. She was barely aware of the village of Berk below struggling through a regular dragon raid. She knew she should be preparing to treat the wounded that would flood her hut after the Battle, but instead her eyes were locked on the hidden apparition, revealed to only her eyes, move through the dark clouds above.

Though many miles stood between them, the woman could clearly see the Night Fury with a young Viking boy and girl on it's back, yet for some reason, she couldn't hear any of what they were saying, if they were saying anything at all. She could even see that the Night Fury had a saddle on and a tail made by human hands. By the smiles on their faces she could tell all three were having the time of their lives. The boy, whom she had recognized as Hiccup, was in bliss. Astrid was sitting behind him and completely enthralled by the nightime flight.

After watching them fly through the heavens for hours on end she suddenly saw Night Fury's eyes revert to slits. 'Strange how I can see that from here' she thought to herself. The faces of the two humans turned to confusion and concern, and then to fear as the realization came that they were among the dragons bringing back the kill.

She was somehow able to continue watching the two as they flew past Helheim's Gate and between the sea stacks that created a previously impassible labyrinth to the Nest. Her gaze followed the trio as they flew into a mountain through a cave and into the crater of a Volcano. She watched in disgust as the dragons dropped all the food down a hole and then her eyes widened in fear as a giant dragon head burst forth, swallowing a straggling Gronkle.

She silently urged the trio to move when the head spotted the two humans the black dragon carried and sighed in relief when they narrowly escaped the beast's monstrous jaws.

She continued to watch the uneventful journey home and still had her eyes on them when the trio landed. The dragon immediately went for a drink after the long flight as the two teens began to chat. Now she was starting to hear murmuring but couldn't quite make out what they were saying yet. She watched as Astrid punched the boy, suddenly she was able to hear the conversation as clear as if she was standing next to the pair.

"That's for kidnapping me" Astrid said before she went in for a kiss. Both of them blushing beat red as she quickly continued, "That's for everything else." Before she quickly ran off.

Time seemed to fly as images blurred in front of the woman. Soon she found herself in a dungeon. A figure she easily recognized as an older Hiccup was chained to a table. Whip lashes were clear to see across the boy' torn torso as well as claw marks. He had two black eyes and a swollen cheek. Bruises were all over his body and she wouldn't be surprised if the young man had a few broken ribs as well.

A door creaked open and a man walked in. He appeared no older than Hiccup but that was where the similarities ended. This man was black as coal with an evil glint in eye. Wings sprouted from his back and his eyes glowed green like a dragon's. Three black claws sprung from each hand and glinted in the light.

The man walked forward and dragged his claws down Hiccup's back. The boy never made a sound as he starred defiantly at the wall ahead. She realized that the boy was staring at a picture of Astrid that was carved into the wall.

The images flashed forward again and soon she found herself back on berk watching form her mountain top perch again.

She watched horrified as the creature from the dungeon landed in the town square. The beast raised his arms and every building around him burst into flames. Movement caught both of their eyes as Astrid started walking towards the creature, axe in hand.

With a viking cry she ran forward, axe raised high towards the beast who began his own charge. They met in the middle, axe clanging with claws.

Gothi woke up with a start, heart pounding. It was the middle of the day she realized. She never slept this late.

She took a minute to calm her nerves before thinking back to her dream and the horrible images it contained.

She got up, grabbed her staff and started making the long trip down the mountain. She had to find the Chief, but more importantly she had to find Astrid.

o~0~O~0~o

"Uhmph…"

Hiccup stumbled backwards with a bloody lip from the hammer that had just hit his face seconds ago. They were only using practice weapons made of wood so opponents wouldn't hurt each other permanently. Even so, Hiccup felt his anger rising. He silently wished he could kill the young man standing before him. The man on the other hand looked nervously out of the ring and to the stands. A certain Night Fury lay dozing on the seats. The dragon had yet to bat an ear flap but the trainer was still nervous that one of the hits he landed on his trainee would set the beast into a rage.

They had been at it all afternoon and Hiccup's body was starting to feel black and blue. Thankfully the wound on his chest had healed to the point that it didn't need to be babied in the week he had been on Outcast island

"Your too slow." The man known as Eid commented. The viking stood about 5 foot 8 and like a true viking had thick arms and a large chest. His red beard wasn't growing in fully yet but even still, it was grimy. He had several scars, the testament of a man who had spent his childhood diligently training in order to become one of the best fighters in the village. "You don't have the strength to block the blows of the average viking. You must be light on your feet and quick to dodge an attack. Only then will you succeed. Now pick up your sword and try again."

Hiccup walked over to where his sword had fallen and reached down to grab it with his right hand. Quick as he could he swung it around in a circle and with the same motion brought down on the trainer's head. Eid just barely had time to block the blow.

"Good Hiccup. The element of surprise can give you a major advantage on the battle field."

Hiccup quickly brought the blade back and took another swing only to have it parried away again.

"I can see your rage behind your eyes, yet you don't use it correctly." Eid remarked casually as he brought his hammer down and easily disarmed the lad in front of him. "You direct your anger at me, but I can't feel it in your swings. Channel your anger into your arms. Let it follow through on your swings. Here catch."

Eid tossed a dagger that had been hanging off his belt towards the boy who radiated anger out of his very pores.

Hiccup easily caught it.

"Why do you do that?" Eid asked.

"Do what?" Hiccup coldly replied while contemplating throwing it at the man in front of him

"You catch with your left and yet you fight with your right."

"Everybody always told me that you fight with your right and defend with your left. I used to hold it in my left but I was scolded for it every time I tried."

"Don't fight what feels natural, it doesn't do to be clashing with yourself while you should be gaining the upper-hand on your enemy. In order to reach your full potential, you must be yourself, not that of your peers." Hiccup pondered this. "Pick up your sword and let's try again."

Hiccup grabbed his sword and gave it a few swings, testing it out with his good hand. In a flash he was on the young outcast, his full fury being unleashed through has arm off his hand and into his sword. Eid parried the blow away but was surprised by the power of the blow. "Good." He managed to grit through his teeth. He quickly brought his sword back down towards Hiccup. The boy in question managed to sidestep the blow and Eid was put off balance. Taking his chance with the hammer out of the way Hiccup swung again. The blade came down on the Outcast's head with power. The wood struck the steel of Eid's helmet and instantly shattered on impact.

Stunned, Eid turned to look at Hiccup. He stood there with eyes that burned red, a splintered hilt gripped tightly in his hand and chest heaving.

"Very good Hiccup." Eid commented with pride. "It takes some recruits months to learn what you have accomplished today. I myself took three months to beat my first foe. You took my words to heart and as a result, I would have been dead on the Battlefield… if we had real weapons. That's enough practising for today, but I want you to take an extra helping of food at supper tonight. We need you to be well feed if your going to put on some muscle."

"So I'm dismissed then?" Hiccup asked.

"Not quite, you're a blacksmith, yes?"

"What about it?"

"I hear your allowed in the forge and able to use our metal whenever you like. I don't just want you to be in the forge whenever you feel like it, I want you in there on a daily basis handling our bigger weapons and equipment. You have the will and cunning of a warrior but not the body. You need to work hard to get some muscle on your bones. I want you too adopt a workout routine as well. If you put your mind to it, you'll be stronger than you ever were before. That matched with the agility and smarts you displayed today will make you an almost unstoppable force. When people hear the name Hiccup they wont laugh and stare, they will cower in fear instead. Now go and get yourself cleaned up."

With a nod the teen turned his head towards the stand where Toothless was still contently snoozing and gave a sharp quick whistle. Eid couldn't help but marvel at how the Night Fury immediately bounced to his feet and half leapt, half flew to the boy. Hiccup laughed as the dragon gave him a joyful lick. With one last pat on the dragon's snout, he turned and walked purposefully out of the arena.


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N) Just to let you guys know, I updated the last paragraph of Chapter 2 and the first of Chapter 4, no major changes. I just wanted to make Toothless more playful and at the same time strengthen an idea that I have for later on in the story. I basically just made Toothless chew on a stick.**

 **Also, MMM, I forgot to mention this last time I updated, but I'd just like to say thanks for your reviews. Your questions actually influenced this story in a major way. Before we started I never considered having a romantic angle to the story, mostly because I didn't know how I would fit it in. So it is thanks to your reviews that the prophecy from last chapter actually came to be. No hints as too how and if a romantic relationship will blossom however, I can't give away all my secrets can I?**

 **Have fun reading** **J**

 **Chapter 6**

"Thunk"

Astrid smiled to herself as the axe buried itself deep into the tree in front of her. All around her were giant trees that had stood for centuries and every single one bore the scars of her axe. In one fluid motion she tore the axe from the tree and threw it again. Again it made its way to her target and found itself buried in splinters.

Astrid loved training, it developed her mind and body as well as cleared her mind enough to think about the last few weeks since Hiccup had left. It was also one of the few opportunities she had to be alone.

'Why did you leave?' she thought to herself as she grabbed her axe again. 'Sure things were looking grim at first but you could have worked it out.' Another tree fell victim to her relentless training. 'I had just got to see the real you. You were supposed to be someone who could solve any problem.'

A small involuntary tear began to flow down her face and made her angry at herself. 'Stupid Astrid, you're a Viking, you're not supposed to cry.' She quickly wiped away the tear and made her body bend to her will, a quick summersault in the air followed by another thrown axe before her feet touched the ground. She smiled without looking up when she heard another satisfying "Thwack."

'If only you could see how your father is reacting right now. I'm sure if you came back now he'd be willing to do anything to keep you here, even make peace with the dragons.'

She grabbed her axe again and jumped off a nearby boulder before throwing her axe at another tree. Again the axe disappeared into the tree's trunk. She thought back to the last time she had climbed that boulder. She had been trying to follow Hiccup but he had somehow disappeared into thin air. Oh how she wished she had been successful. She remembered the first time she had seen the Night Fury the young teen rode. It was the first time she had ever saw a dragon for more than a mindless killing machine.

It had also been the first time she had seen the boy as more than useless. She had seen the real him. The kind, compassionate and innovative side of him. She blushed slightly as she remembered her first kiss, with a boy who hours earlier she had hated. Maybe if things had gone a little different something might had happened between the two of them.

Astrid paused as she went to grab her axe again, she thought she had heard something.

"ASTRID?"

She groaned. She'd could recognize that voice anywhere, and it was not one she was particularity fond of… Snotlout.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, there you are." He replied. He was about to start boasting about his amazing tracking skills that he had used to find her when she cut him off.

"Ya, here I am. Now state your business." She demanded before throwing her axe in his direction.

The boy yelped as the axe sailed over his shoulder and into the tree behind him. They both heard the resounding "Crack" that echoed threw the forest. The tree gave way under it's own weight in crashed to the forest floor, the axe still embedded in the splinters of the stump.

"Oh darn…" Astrid smiled to herself. "I missed."

Snotlout noticeably gulped before turning his eyes away from the fallen tree to the young shield maiden in front of him.

"You-your w-wanted in the village… By the Chief."

o~0~O~0~o

"You wanted me Chief."

"Aye, Gothi has something to say ta us, apparently it concerns you, me an Hiccup. An before you ask she wouldn't tell me a word before you got here. I've been anxiously awaiting your arrival. It's not often the Elder comes down ya know lass. She's waiting for us in the Great Hall."

"Well then let's get going"

The two climbed the steps to the Great Hall and entered. It was deserted except for two figures seated around the Chief's table.

"I asked for the villagers to clear out for the time being." The Chief explained as Astrid was looking around at the empty seats.

The two sat down in front of Gothi and Gobber. A vial of sand had been dumped on the floor.

"What are you doing here Gobber?" Astrid asked.

"Why I'm one of the only ones on this island that can read Gothi's scribblin. She's not really tha talkin sort."

As Gobber explained, Gothi got up and started drawing in the sand.

"AH, looks like it's time for me to work my magic. It would seem that Gothi had a vision last night. It concern's Berk's potential Distraction." Gothi brought her staff down on Gobber's head with a solid "Thwack."

"Ouch! ya crazy old woman, watch it with tha stick! Destruction, not distraction." He turned and looked at Gothi "Ya happy now?"

Gothi rolled her eyes as Astrid and Stoick tried to comprehend what they just heard.

"Say again?" the Chief asked, but Gothi was already scribbling in the sand again.

"Apparently her vision started on the highest mountain of berk." Gobber translated. "It was the night after" "Thwack" "Ouch! -Before the events in the kill ring. She was watching Hiccup and Astrid riding that Night Fury."

Stoick shot Astrid a suspicious glance while the girl defiantly stood her ground.

"She saw them go to the Nest" Gobber flinched, waiting for a smack from the staff again. "Really, that was the right translation?"

Stoick turned once again to the girl. "You've been to the Nest! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because Hiccup asked me not to, before he turned against us. Also, you'd never stand a chance against what we saw in there!"

"She's right, Gobber interrupted. "Gothi saw it too, it was a dragon with a head big enough to swallow ten dragons whole."

Stoick's eyes widened in shock. "There's nothing that big."

"Oh but there is, I saw it with my own eyes." Astrid replied.

Gobber continued his translations. "After that she watched the three of them fly back home."

'Oh gods, how much does this woman know?' Astrid thought to herself as she thought about a certain event that happened soon afterwards.

"An then…" Gobber looked flustered. "Are ye sure Gothi? I can't just say that can I?" The blacksmith received another smack to the head. "Ouch, will ya stop tha?"

"Just get on with it Gobber." The Chief pressed."

"She watched Astrid over there kiss the lad. I never would have thought it possible."

Astrid felt her cheeks go red as the Chief stared at her in shock. This time she shrank back a little.

"You kissed my boy?" Secretly the Chief was pleased. Astrid just gave him an embarrassed nod.

"I never thought I'd se the day. Hiccup tha lassie slayer." Gobber laughed.

In impatient tapping drew everybody's attention back the Elder.

"Ah yes, back to the translatin." Gobber sighed.

"The next she saw was Hiccup, older now, in chains and bein tortured." Pain flashed across all three of their eyes. "A man entered the room, he was black as coal with wings, claws and glowing green eyes. He continued the torture but Hiccup never made a sound. He just sat and starred at a carving of Astrid in the wall in front of him." The room went silent as the three members of the audience digested what had been revealed to them.

"What does it mean Gothi?" The Chief inquired. The Elder just shrugged and continued to draw in the sand.

"That's for you and the lass to figure out." Gobber answered. "After tha' the scene changed again. She next found herself back on the mountain top watching the figure descend to the Village below. He landed and with a wave of his arms the town square was ablaze. It was Astrid she next saw running towards the figure, axe in hand. The two met and brought their weapons too each other. That's when she woke up."

The four sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what was said before Astrid finally spoke up.

"So, what does it mean?"

The Elder turned and began to write in the sand again.

"In a few years' time, someone will come to destroy us all. You, Astrid Hofferson, are the only one who can stop him, and Hiccup is the key."

o~0~O~0~o

Fire was everywhere. The Chief watched his village burning once again while issuing orders as a dragon raid was in full swing.

"Gather the sheep! Safeguard the yacks! Get the children to cover!" As each order was issued a group of Vikings around him broke off to complete the task.

"What are we up against?"

"Several Zipplebacks, Nadders and Gronkles. There's five or six Monstrous Nightmares as well. Someone saw a Scauldron attack the fish house but it took off and hasn't been seen since." Replied a Viking Stoick couldn't quite identify.

"That many? I can't remember the last time we had an attack this size." The Chief huffed. "What about Night Furys?"

"Hiccup hasn't shown up yet if that's what yer askin."

The Chief narrowed his eyes at the comment but never said a word about the matter.

"Concentrate the catapults towards the lower pasture, I can see a large group going after the yacks from here."  
"Aye" The viking replied and ran off.

o~0~O~0~o

Astrid ran through the burning village, axe in hand. So far she had seen three opportunities to at least seriously injure a dragon, but instead, had left them alone.

Every chance she got she couldn't help but remember the Queen and her control on the dragons. A month ago she would have jumped at the chance to spill a Nadder's guts. Now she couldn't get the scared look of the dragons in the volcano she and Hiccup had visited out of her mind.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a Zippleback chasing a child. The terrified youngster was screaming at the top of his lungs for help. Astrid hesitated for only a second, they might be doing this against their will, but Astrid knew her village needed her.

"With a yell she charged forward with her axe held high.

o~0~O~0~o

Gobber was in his Blacksmith's shop, as usual during a raid. He could see it was bad, very bad out there. He wished beyond belief that he could get out there and help but without Hiccup he was stuck inside.

Tool after tool he would gather up, quickly sharpen or exchange a weapon and then move to the next warrior.

Occasionally he would go to hand a sword or mace to his apprentice, but he always caught himself before the thoughts become motion. Oh how he missed his extra set of hands and the sarcastic banter the two of them had always exchanged.

He was at the counter handing over an axe to Phlegma the Fierce when he heard a clatter in the back room.

"What the…" He muttered under his breath.

o~0~O~0~o

Stoick was on one of the catapults trying to save it from destruction by the Monstrous Nightmare climbing the tower. The flaming head came near him and he swung his hammer towards the beast. The dragon screamed in pain as broken teeth and blood splattered against the wood of the catapult.

The dragon tried to retaliate but Stoick directed a few more swings at the beast. Realizing killing this Viking was more trouble than it was worth the dragon flew above the Chief and continued to burn the structure.

The Chief was just about to climb up after it when he heard rock being torn to shreds below. He looked down to find a Whispering Death chewing at the foundation.

"Jump Clear!" The Chief yelled to his fellow Vikings as the tower began to fall.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup scowled to himself as he went through his old notes and gathered them up in the back room of Gobber's forge. He had Piggy backed on one of the Queen's raids to use as a distraction so he could gather up what he had left behind in his hasty departure.

The notes he was gathering up right now were of little importance to him. However, in the wrong hands they could spell disaster. He had so many blueprints kept in the back of the forge, most of which had to do with killing dragons. Like the plans he was holding right now, he stared down at the bola launcher that had started this whole mess. He planned to destroy them all when he got back to Outcast Island.

He had even brought a few of his own dragons, ones he had thought could withstand the Queen's control. The Scauldron, a Whispering Death, two of the Monstrous Nightmares, a couple Nadders and a few Zipplebacks. The Sea Shocker was here too, but wasn't doing much since it couldn't fly or fight on land. The Scauldron he had sent to get fish for the pack of dragons back on Outcast island while the rest he had sent to destroy various buildings on Berk.

He glanced up every once and a while to check on where Gobber was in the front room, but he was too busy trying to keep up with the weapon orders to pay attention anything going on back here. That was until he backed up into a sword that had been leaned against a wall. It fell to the ground with a clang. Hiccup grimaced as it fell and then heard a familiar voice mutter "What tha… Stay here a second Phlegma, I'll be right back."

Hiccup frantically began to gather up the rest of his things, but it wasn't enough time. The door behind him opened and he heard a voice behind him say "Well, well, well, look who's come back."

Hiccup turned to see Gobber in the doorway with a surprised look in his eyes.

"Ah, you know me, always at the center of trouble. Now if you just go about your business I'll just gather up my things and leave."

"Not so fast. You an I need to have a little chat."

"Not a good time Gobber."

"I noticed, but I don't think anytime will be a good time for a chat now will it?" Gobber grabbed the back of the boy's shirt with his hook and lifted him in the air. Pieces of paper dropped from the boy's arms as he started to squirm.

"You're not getting away this time. Your staying right in the forge where ya belong."

Before he could take a step toward the door, the blacksmith found himself flat on his back staring into the maw of a dragon. A purple glow started to form at the back of the throat.

"Toothless, NO!" Hiccup called out.

"You ok back there Gobber?" A female voice from the front counter called out.

"It's Hiccup!" Gobber called out.

"I'll go get back-up!" She replied.

"Well it's nice to se that the village actually sees me as a threat." Hiccup commented. "Just hold him there for a second Toothless. I'm almost done."

"Two questions." Gobber threw at the boy's back. "Why'd you let me live and how did you get this Night Fury in here without me noticing?"

The boy never paused as he was gathering up his stuff and placing them on the Night Fury.

"There are only two people I feel I owe on this island. Your one of them and that's the only reason your alive. As to how I got Toothless in here…" The boy shrugged as he put the last of his things on the dragon and pointed to the back wall, well what was left of it.

"MY WALL!" Gobber exclaimed.

The wood planks that made up the rear corner of the study had been splintered and torn down to reveal a large hole.

"I did it before you got here. I planned on leaving a note saying 'I'm sorry', but now that you're here I'll say it in person. I'm sorry."

With that the boy jumped on the saddle. Hiccup could hear Phlegma and a few others running towards the building, but tell they would be too late.

"So long Gobber" Hiccup called as both human and dragon took off. An axe narrowly missed the boy as they escaped into the night.

High in the air Hiccup turned to watch the chaos below. "Well bud, want to call them back?"

The dragon answered with deafening roar. As the dragons below looked up the pair raced off towards Outcast island.

o~0~O~0~o

Stoick got up after landing amongst the wreckage of the catapult and brushed himself off. He looked around for his hammer but stopped when he heard a resounding roar fill the village. He watched in confusion as the half of the dragons stopped their attack and flew off instantly, the remaining dragons hesitated for a second before following with whatever they had.

With the attack over he started to walk through the village, taking note about what had to be fixed in the morning.

"Stoick!"

The Chief turned to see Gobber running up to him.

"Stoick, that wasn't an average dragon raid."

"Tell me about it, nearly twice the number of dragons we usually receive. We had a Scauldron and 5 Monstrous Nightmares, FIVE! And to top it all off that last catapult was taken out by a Whispering Death!" The Chief fumed.

"Not to mention a certain boy and Night Fury I found in the back of my shop."

The Chief glared at Gobber. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Aye, and I got witnesses to prove it. He was here for his things. Must have been important, I never went through his stuff come to think of it. As soon as he escaped he took the dragons from the town an left."

"That was the roar I heard?"

"Indeed it was."

"Hiccup…" The Chief whispered. "He's alive."

"And very dangerous."


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N) Sorry this is up later than normal, I was trying to get this chapter edited by someone other than myself. That being said, it never happened so sorry if this Chapter isn't as good as my other ones.**

 **Other than that, have fun reading and please review.**

 **Chapter 7**

Up here, he was free. Hiccup absolutely loved the wind in his face, the danger and the possibility discovering new things. With each new land he discovered, he'd find more dragons, more difficulties and the challenge of overcoming the odds. There were a few times he'd almost lost his head during one of his adventures in the last five months, but that would only make him more determined to overcome the obstacle.

More than the challenges Hiccup faced he loved the time alone with his best friend. Up in the sky he and Toothless could let loose the limitations of the ground. They'd perform barrel rolls, race between sea stacks, free fall, anything they could think of. It had resulted in a few minor crashes but nothing serious… yet.

Hiccup was content, and his spirits rose even more when he saw a land mass appear on the horizon in front of him. Though this wasn't the farthest away from Berk or Outcast island he'd ever been, he had been flying on and off for about nine hours and was sure Toothless could use a break.

"Looks like we found another one bud, want to go check it out?"

The dragon warbled his enthusiasm. As much as he was ready to give his wings a break, he also thoroughly enjoyed exploring with his rider and the dangers that came with it.

"You got it bud."

Hiccup couldn't wait to discover what lived there, boars? An unknown tribe? New dragons? His mind was ready to burst with curiosity by the time the duo landed.

He looked around, the island was rocky but lush at the same time. Moss grew readily on the stone and a forest had managed to find a place to root between the rocks. Giant cliffs rose from the north side of the island and waves did their best to claw their way up and take over the land. To the south the rocks gave way to rough beaches and shallow lagoons.

"Not a bad place to spend the night huh bud?

Hiccup turned around to see the Night Fury cautiously sniffing around, a low growl escaped his lips.

"What's the matter bud?"

The dragon turned and crooned at his rider with worry in his eye.

"What ever it is, I'm sure you can handle it." Hiccup praised. "It's either that or fly for a few more hours for the nearest land mass. Help me gather up some wood for a fire, that should keep any predators at bay."

With Toothless' help, and a lot of sweat, they soon had a large pile of wood ready to be burnt.

"There, that should be enough to last us the night, eh bud? None too soon as well." Hiccup commented as he stared out at the setting sun on the horizon. "We should get some sleep."

Hiccup pulled up some grass to use as a pillow and lay down. It wasn't long before he was snoring. Toothless however choose to stay up and keep watch. He didn't have to wait long.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup startled awake as his dragon nudged him over.

"Huh?"

Toothless gave his rider a nervous warble. Hiccup attempted to rub the sleep away from his eyes.

"What's going on."

Then he heard it. Little chirps, squeaks and shrieks could be heard from the bushes around them. In an effort to see better and scare off whatever was out there, Hiccup threw more wood on the dying fire. He then walked over to Toothless, ready to bolt into the air at a moments notice. His eyes strained to see into the bush, but nothing was revealed to his eyes.

The shrieks grew closer and Hiccup became aware that the woods were full of whatever it was on all sides. They were surrounded. Hiccup felt something he hadn't felt since he had left Berk. Fear and helplessness.

Nervously he hopped into Toothless' saddle, ready to fly away at a moments notice. Movement caught the corner of his eye and Hiccup tensed up, but refrained from taking flight. Curiosity was starting to get the best of him. Below him, in the saddle, Toothless was growing restless.

"Lets see what they are first bud."

The dragon huffed in annoyance and Hiccup could feel the irritation radiating off the dragon.

In the growing fire light, a green head finally revealed itself. Slowly, a body materialized behind the head.

"It's a dragon." Hiccup told himself.

The dragon was about the size of a man. It stood on two legs and had small wings on it's back that were obviously not made for flying and a sail on it's head. Red eyes shone in the fire light above a mouth that resembled a Venus fly trap. Sharp, pointed teeth were visible and a red tipped tail pointed towards the boy.

"Well, well, well… what are you?" Hiccup muttered. "I wish I had the book of dragons… or Fishlegs."

The dragon squeaked and backed up, for a moment. Dozens more of the dragons made themselves known. There was one however, that stood out from the rest. It was bigger and had red markings all down it's body.

"I guess you're in charge."

Tentatively Hiccup climbed off of Toothless' back and approached the leader.

"Easy, I'm not going to hurt you."

The dragon curiously followed Hiccup's movements.

"I'm not a threat." He told the dragon while slowly unsheathing the rusty short sword he had scavenged from Outcast's supplies and throwing it to the side.

"See, I'm no threat, there's no reason to get violent."

Hiccup was now less than five feet from the dragon and slowly stretched his hand out towards it's snout. Toothless didn't like what he was seeing and gave a warning growl to both Hiccup and the dragon. Hiccup chanced a glance at the growling Night Fury behind him and raised his other hand to calm the dragon.

"Easy bud, I know wha-"

Hiccup felt a sharp jab on his forearm and felt a numbing sensation start to flow through his body. Before he could yell out he found that he was completely frozen and helpless against the dragons circling the pair.

'Oh right.' He thought to himself. 'now I remember, Speed Stingers.'

With a shriek of fright for his rider, Toothless shot a weak plasma blast at the leader, hitting it smack in the face and throwing it back several feet. The pack, seeing it's leader take a hit, cowered a little, but when the small dragon leapt back to it's feet they began to attack. Toothless had taken advantage of the distraction and had gathered Hiccup up in his jaws, teeth retracted so as to not injure the boy, and leapt into a tree.

Without Hiccup he couldn't fly, but he could glide and that gave the dragon an advantage. He knew the smaller dragons were faster, but he also knew their wings were not made for flight, and that gave the larger Night Fury the edge he needed. Up in the tree tops Toothless could jump wide gaps from tree to tree while the Speed Stingers were forced to cover the same distance on the ground before attempting to climb after their prey.

All the Night Fury had to do was stay one step ahead of the predators down below.

o~0~O~0~o

Stoick was tired and grumpy. He'd spent the whole night before defending the village once again from a dragon raid and had lost a quarter of the flock. At least a certain someone had decided not to show up. Now he was up early cleaning up debris, gathering resources and organizing people into repair crews. As he looked around at the destruction he couldn't help but wonder if Hiccup could have indeed stopped all of this and brought peace to the village.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard his name called.

"What is it Fishlegs? Make it quick, I'm busy."

"Hello Chief." Fishlegs nervously greeted. "Y-you fought great last night."

"I'm not interested in praise right now Fishlegs. If ya got something important to say, spit it out or get back to work."

"Yes, umm… I've been watching the raids and I've been noticing a few consistencies that I think we can exploit."

"Ya think so do ya. These are animals Fishlegs, there's nothing consistent about them. I've been fighting them for longer than you've been alive, I don't need you telling me how to fight. At least not until you've got a few years of experience under yer belt first."

"I'd never think of telling you how to fight." The boy defended. "I'm not a fighter and you know that. But I have noticed things about them. For instance, have you noticed that the dragons always arrive from the same direction? Raid after raid they always come from the North East."

"No, I haven't, but now that you mention it… What does this have to do with us."

"I propose that we sacrifice a few men each night to serve as watchmen. We put a few boats out to sea at strategic locations to watch for the incoming dragons. When they see the swarm, they light a fire in board. When the next watchmen in line spot the blaze they light another fire. Depending on how many watchmen we put out there we'd have up to an hour to prepare for the raid. We could hide the sheep in caves, gather the young and the old to mead hall, gather weapons, get men manning the catapults. We'd be ready and willing for a fight instead of being caught with our pants around our ankles."

"Are ya sure about this?"

"Most assured Chief. I calculate that we could lower the casualty rate by about 52% and the food loss by about 78%."

"Interesting. I'll present this to the elders and see what they think. Thanks Fishlegs, we could use a brain like yours."

Fishlegs smiled at the praise, but he couldn't help but think to himself 'we could have used a brain like Hiccup's too.'

o~0~O~0~o

Toothless had seen the perfect place to defend from after about five minutes of running through the tree tops. There was an almost vertical cliff up ahead with a ledge about 30 feet higher than the tallest tree in the vicinity. With every ounce of his strength Toothless braced himself on a nearby tree and leapt straight up into the air. His wings stretched out and pumped the hardest he possibly could, straining with every beat of his wings to gain every inch of height he could. He needed to keep his rider safe.

Toothless hit the cliff face 10 feet from his goal. His claws grasped at the rock and tried to climb up the cliff face to the safety of the ledge. Below the Speed Stingers had caught up and were watching the Night Fury with interest as he started to slip down towards them five feet short of the ledge.

'No' the dragon thought. 'I can't let Hiccup down.'

With an intensity he had not felt since the day at the kill ring when he and Hiccup had left Berk, Toothless ground his claws into the rock. And slowly made his way up the last few feet to safety. Panting he set his rider down and looked over the lip at the frustrated pack below. They were desperately trying to climb the cliff. Some of them were making it pretty far, their speed generating enough momentum to propel them 20 feet up the side of the cliff before gravity took over. But each time they fell back to the ground, the more determined than ever they were to get at the dragon who had stolen their meal.

Toothless took the respite to glance at their surroundings. The ledge was protected from above by an overhang, though it was not impossible it would be hard to attack from above. To attack from below was a fruitless attempt. The dragon reasoned that the only way to effectively launch an attack against them was from the sky. The ledge had no smells indicating the ledge belonged to another dragon, so they shouldn't have to worry about an attack from the air, especially with so many Speed Stingers near by.

Toothless heard a shrill shriek from below and glanced down to see the leader squawking at several of the followers below. He watched as several members of the pack broke off and ran away leaving only a few guarding the forest floor below.

'What are they up to?' He wondered.

His questions were soon answered when a green flash fell from above about a half hour later. It flew by with a brief squeak before disappearing from view. Toothless looked up to see the small dragons lining up to take their turns leaping for the ledge. He glanced a look below to see a guard race off and the jumper take its place.

'This is goanna be a long night.' He mused.

Dragon after dragon fell from above through the night, desperate at getting their stingers on their prey. Only one got close. It was just after Hiccup had twitched his fingers for the first time since he was stung. The sun was just about to rise above the horizon, a purple glow was visible in the night sky. A Speed Stinger made a lucky leap and managed to land two feet on the lip of the ledge, only to be immediately met with a plasma blast.

The small dragon was thrown back several feet and fell. It was thrown against a tree and landed on the ground poorly. Even Hiccup could hear the sickening crunch of bone breaking and the shriek of pain from below. It wasn't long after that the attacks stopped altogether, yet the squeaks of pain lasted until the sun made its appearance.

o~0~O~0~o

Is wasn't until around two pm that Hiccup was finally able to function relatively normal again.

"Thanks for the rescue there bud, I wasn't sure if that sting would wear off at all." Hiccup commented as he took stock of himself. His clothes were dried with dragon saliva. "Do you think this will wash out?"

Toothless warbled a dragon laugh at the boy as if to say "nope."

Hiccup smiled at his dragon. "Anyways, what do ya say we get out of here?"

The Night Fury crooned his agreement.

"My thoughts exactly."

Hiccup climbed up into the saddle and the two took off, anxious to get out of there. As the two took flight, Hiccup glanced down to the forest floor below. There he saw one of the Speed Stingers resting below, a leg was bent at an odd angle and he wouldn't be surprised if the were a few broken ribs as well. He felt pity for the dragon awaiting its death below.

"We can't just leave it there Toothless, without our help it will die."

The dragon shot him a look like he was crazy.

"What? I seem to recall a time when you were injured and helpless and I took pity on you."

Toothless sighed and started to turn around.

Back on the ground Hiccup started looking over the helpless dragon. It was young, but still dangerous. There was indeed three broken ribs, which constricted the dragon's breathing to short gasps. When he tried to move it the Speed Stinger woke up and started to hiss. Hiccup was forced to dodge the Stinger's tail, but was still determined to help the dragon. He slowly made his way closer to it.

"Easy there little guy."

The Speed Stinger made a show of presenting the dangerous red barb that was the tip of it's tail. With a lunge Hiccup dove for the tail and pinned it to the ground.

"Toothless, little help her."

The dragon came forward and stepped on the tail, freeing up Hiccup's hands to make a splint. It was a little awkward with the dragon thrashing beneath him but he managed to tie a couple sticks to the broken leg with a vine from a nearby tree.

"Let him go Toothless."

Cautiously Toothless removed his foot and backed away. In an instant the speed stinger was on it's feet and taking a few careful steps to test out the splint. Due to the broken ribs, it wasn't able to move too fast and it walked with a limp, but it was still deadly.

"Easy there, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help."

The dragon hesitantly took a step towards Hiccup. Toothless gave it a warning growl which Hiccup waved off.

"Lets try this again." he mumbled to himself.

He tentatively reached out a hand and turned his head away, fully knowing that he was in danger again. Toothless tensed, knowing he might have to save his crazy rider… again. Hiccup could feel a drop of sweat form on his forehead as he waited for the dragon to make up it's mind. After a few more tense seconds, he felt the warm contact of dragon scales on his skin. He glanced back to Speed Stinger, it's snout resting against his palm, and smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N) Hello everyone, I'd just like to start out by saying once again that I love getting your reviews. I want to know what you guys think, is there anything that you could suggest, how can I write better? Reviews, both good and bad I love to read, but I keep getting less and less. I'm going to try from now on to reply to every review I get, but I am wondering if you want me to reply here in the Author Note, at the bottom of the chapter or in a private message. Also, if you have any ideas as to how I can you readers to review more I'd love to here them.**

 **With that out of the way, have fun reading :) Chapter 8**

"FIRE!"

The cry ran through the otherwise peaceful night air and spurred sleepy Vikings into action. A house fire, although not uncommon in the village, was usually accompanied by a dragon raid. The lack of a single dragon in sight made this fire a curious affair. Within minutes of the village waking up, a crowd had gathered and a bucket chain was formed.

"Chief." A viking acknowledged as Stoick made his way to the scene.

"What happened here?"

"We don't know yet sir, the blaze is just beginning to be under control."

"Where's Gobber? Did he escape?"

"No one's seen him yet sir."

Stoick looked towards Gobber's burning house with a pained expression.

"I'm not dead yet Stoick if tha's what yer thinkin." A familiar voice calmed. "I was burning the midnight oil when I was attacked."

The Chief turned to look at his friend.

"Attacked?"

"Ya, the Boneknapper came after me again. Nearly burned me to a crisp and chassed me all the way to the forge. I finally beat him off me when I got ma hands on a hammer."

Stoick buried his face in his hand.

"How many times do I have to tell you Gobber, there's no such thing as a Boneknapper, it's a myth."

A Viking quickly ran up to the pair holding a suspicious piece of charred cloth in his hands.

"Stoick, we found Gobber's underpants hanging by the stove. They must've started the fire."

Laughter rose through the crowd while Gobber frowned.

"Still think it was the Boneknapper Gobber? Or just your underpants?" Stoick asked "Case closed. Everyone back ta bed."

"I know what I saw Stoick, and if yer not goanna do anythin about it I will." Gobber gathered up a few of his things and turned to his pet sheep "Come on Phil." With that he started to make his way to the docks.

"Chief"

Stoick turned to Astrid standing at his side.

"What is it lass?"

"Let me go with him."

"No, we need you here."

"Come on Chief, what am I doing here that only I can do. Gobber is going to need help and you know it. I can keep an eye out for him and make sure he doesn't do something too crazy."

"It's too dangerous."

"It's what I've trained for Chief. What was the point of all that dragon training if I don't get to use it? Besides, we'll be with Gobber. He's one of the best dragon fighters on this island. I'll be perfectly safe."

Knowing he was defeated, Stoick relented.

"Alright, as long as it's ok with your parents."

"Hey, anything she can do I can do better. If she goes, I go!" Snotlout, who had been eavesdropping along with the twins exclaimed.

"Ya, what he said." Ruffnutt agreed.

"Wherever she goes, I go." Tuffnutt chimed up, pointing to his sister.

"Anybody else?" Stoick asked.

"I guess Fishlegs could come too." Snotlout suggested.

Once again Stoick found his face in his hand.

"Fine, go and get yer stuff together before Gobber sets sail.

o~0~O~0~o

It took a little bit of encouragement, and a bribe for both animals, but eventually Hiccup managed to get the Speed Stinger on Toothless' back. After that it was a short flight back to camp. The fire was completely dead, but that didn't bother Hiccup, he wasn't going to stay here another night anyways.

With his supplies in order, he quickly made a better splint for the Speed Stinger and wrapped its ribs in the cloth from a spare tail fin he had for Toothless.

With the Speed Stinger's injuries taken care of for now, Hiccup retrieved his discarded sword and packed up the camp. The sun was starting to set by the time Hiccup hopped on Toothless's back and secured the Speed Stinger to the saddle. He noted that the air was noticeably colder than normal as the trio took to the sky. It was a sure sign that winter was coming, he wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing in a week or two.

o~0~O~0~o

"Come on! Put your backs into it you lazy dogs! Stroke! You're not even trying! Stroke!"

"We having fun yet?" Snotlout asked the Viking girl in front of him.

"This isn't about being fun Snotlout. It's about helping out Gobber."

"That's what you say. I'm here for the chance to kill a legendary dragon."

"That most likely doesn't exist."

"There's still a chance."

"I just want you kids to know that it touches my heart, you helping me slay the Boneknapper. True Vikings, you are. Oh, and look a that… Land ho!" Gobber yelled out to the teens.

"Finally, my arms are ready to fall off." Tuffnutt called out. "They can do that right?"

"I don't know, keep rowing and we'll find out." Ruffnutt told her brother.

No sooner had the group made it to shore than a camp was set up and fire was blazing.

"There, that should keep any wild animals away from us." Gobber commented. "Alright, we better be off ta bed. We want to be well rested for when we take on the Boneknapper. Fishlegs, you can take the first watch."

"Are you going to tell us anything about the Boneknapper before we fight it?" Astrid asked.

"Tomorrow, I'll answer all yer questions while we're at sea."

"My arms are starting to cramp up!" Tuffnut called out from the boat.

"Well stop rowing and get ta bed then! Yer arms aren't going to fall off no matter how hard ya try!"

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup had been flying for several hours and was really looking forward to landing and getting some sleep. Toothless probably was too, considering he had been up the last few days flying and protecting Hiccup from the Speed Stingers. Speaking of which, the Speed Stinger flying with the pair was getting antsy. Too much time without being able to run was probably not good for the hyper active dragon.

"There's an island up ahead bud, you remember the one where we found that Scauldron pair, right?"

The dragon grunted, that had not been a fun day. A hot headed male dragon going after a female was never a fun time… unless your Hiccup, he'd had a blast. Almost literally.

"We can rest there for the night and the little guy can run around to his hearts content."

As they got closer Hiccup noticed a light coming from the southern edge of the island. It was near a cove they had spent their previous excursions in. Curious, Hiccup turned the dragon towards the source.

o~0~O~0~o

Fishlegs had been keeping watch for the past hour. It was almost time to wake up Snotlout so he could get some sleep. It was during this time that Fishlegs found he was afraid of the dark, but he also discovered that a good book helped to take his mind off the sounds of the night life. The book he was currently reading was the book of dragons, which he had sneaked away from Gobber.

So far tonight he'd gone through the Boneknapper -obviously- the Scauldron, Sea Shocker and the Thunderdrum. He was particularity concerned about the sea dragons as of late. They were sailing on the open ocean after all.

Then a thought came to mind, should they be worried about Hiccup and his Night Fury? Knowing it would be pointless, he turned to the Night Fury page anyways. He'd memorized the page on the Night Fury a long time ago, but it would help him to keep his mind focused when he could see it right in front of him.

"Speed: unknown, size: unknown. 'The unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you." He muttered to himself as he flipped through the pages. But then again, Hiccup was not only seen by a Night Fury, he rode one.

To his surprise, when he finally found the page it was not empty like it should have been.

"What's this?" He asked himself as he stared at a beautifully drawn picture of a Night Fury. "Someone's done some updating." He smiled to himself.

"Size: 26 feet long, 48-foot wingspan. Attack: 15, Armour: 18, Jaw Strength-"

"6" a voice interrupted.

Fishlegs yelled in surprise.

"Mmm… Go back to sleep." Astrid groaned, still half asleep.

"Firepower: 14 Venom: 0 Stealth: 18… Anything else you'd like to know?" Hiccup asked as he slowly stepped towards the fire light. Dressed in black pants, sweater, shoes and gloves, he blended perfectly into the night shadows. His hair had grown out, was messy and covered in dirt. Although he could only see shadows, Fishlegs could tell Hiccup had put on a little bit of muscle. How much was unknown, he'd have to take a closer look in the morning.

"Umm... no." Fishlegs squeaked as he glanced towards the other teens.

"Don't even think about it or you'll all be dead. Hiccup warned. "Now, I have some questions."

"J-just don't hurt me."

"No promises... I have questions and I'm going to have them answered." He firmly replied. "To start with, what's the village saying about me?"

"Y-your dangerous, and if we see you, do not engage alone."

"Good, they should fear me. How has my father been taking my disappearance?"

"He's crushed, he misses you and wishes he'd handled things differently. He won't admit it because he's the Chief, but he does. He wants you to come home."

Fishlegs saw Hiccup smile.

"Berks not my home anymore, never was really. It was just where I lived. And my father doesn't miss me, he just misses what could have been."

"That's not true." Fishlegs reasoned. "He's your father, he'll love you until Ragnarök."

Hiccup laughed, "If you say so. Anything else I should know?"

Fishlegs fidgeted a little before answering, "N-no."

"Are you sure?"

"Umm... y-yes."

"Do I have to remind you that I always travel with a Night Fury. He's watching us right now."

Fishlegs nervously glanced into the night and gulped.

"He never misses." Hiccup added.

"Ok, ok. Gothi had a vision concerning you and Astrid."

Hiccup raised his eyes a little at this.

"Apparently there's a black demon with wings coming to destroy Berk sometime in the future. Astrid is supposed to be the one to stop him, but your supposed to be the key."

Hiccup laughed at this. "You think after all Berk has done I'd actually come to its rescue?"

"Well, you are supposed to be captured by this demon and tortured."

"Ha, let him try."

Hiccup turned his back on Fishlegs to look at the sleeping group of teens and his mentor. He drew his sword and started twirling it in the air while contemplating what Fishlegs had said.

"A-are you going to kill us?" Fishlegs asked.

"Haven't decided yet. You'll know either way though."

With that he turned to look the boy sitting by the fire."

"So, what are you all doing so far away from Berk?"

Fishlegs thought about this for a second. He couldn't just tell Hiccup that they were out to kill a dragon, how would he react? Then again, how would he react if he told a lie and Hiccup found out?

"We're all helping Gobber out on a project."

"And do I need to know what this project is?"

"Were gathering dragon bones."

"And why are you gathering dragon bones?"

"I don't know."

It wasn't the truth, but close enough to be believable he thought, but studying Hiccups face didn't reveal whether or not he believed it.

Hiccup turned his back on the boy and began to walk away.

"See you around Fishlegs." He called over his shoulder.

The darkness soon swallowed the figure into the night. With Hiccup gone Fishlegs slumped back a little and let out a sigh of relief. He wiped his forehead and realized he'd been sweating.

He waited a moment for Hiccup to take off and then turned to look at the group and yelled out "Hey, wake up!"

Astrid was the first to pull herself out of sleep's warm embrace.

"What is it Fishlegs?"

"Hiccup was just here!"

As soon as the words were spoken, they all instantly became alert.

"Hiccup, here?" Snotlout asked.

"What did he want?" Asked Gobber, a little disappointed his old apprentice hadn't spoken to him.

"Did you see his Night Fury?" This from Tuffnutt.

"What was he like?" Ruffnutt asked.

"Why didn't he just kill us?" Astrid inquired.

Fishlegs replied "It seemed like he just wanted to talk, I doubt he's had much human contact since he left."

Before he could answer any more questions Tuffnutt spoke up, "What about his Night Fury? Did it blow anything up? Did it kill anything? Did it-"

He was cut off by familiar shriek piercing the cold night air.

Gobber yelled, "Night Fury! Get Down!"

They all dove for cover as a small purple blast hit the fire and threw flaming debris around the cove, illuminating the entire area.

No sooner had things settled down then a loud thump was heard hitting the ground followed by a rush of wind that blew smoke and dirt around the camp.

A low growl emulated from a black mass with two glowing green eyes standing before them.

"Well, well, well, look at this. Here we are, all back together again." A voice called out from the top of the black mass.

"What do you think your doing here Hiccup?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and started to walk towards the group. He stood on front of them and just stared. For a whole minute both sides just stood, glaring at each other.

"Enough of this!" Snotlout yelled as he grabbed his hammer. "You're a traitor and you deserve to die!" He screamed and with a Viking yell as he charged at Hiccup. Hiccup in turn, just stood and stared unconcerned at the charging boy. The group yelled at Snotlout to stop but he ignored them.

When Snotlout arrived at Hiccup he swung with all of his might, only to find that they chest that had been there half a second ago had disappeared. His hammer followed through and hit the ground with enough force to shatter a rock into gravel.

"Snotlout, what did that rock ever do to you?" Hiccup taunted.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Snotlout roared as he swung his hammer again, and again he missed.

"You need to work on your aim." Hiccup commented.

"I beat you all those years in Berk and I'll beat you again!" Snotlout yelled as he swung again, only to find that Hiccup once again wasn't there. He swung so hard that his body followed his hammer's arc and he now had his back to his opponent. Hiccup kicked at the back of Snotlout's legs and the boy suddenly found he was on his back. Before any one could move Hiccup snapped his fingers.

Gobber and the teens gasped as they watched Hiccup get the better of his childhood bully. They were even more surprised when a green object sailed off of Toothless' back at the fallen Snotlout. It was only visible for a moment before it ran off into the darkness."

Snotlout was enraged when he found himself on his back, but was shocked when he felt a sharp jab to his thigh. He tried to jump to his feet but found that he couldn't move his legs.

"Come on Snotlout, I expected more from you... anybody else want to try?" Hiccup asked the group that stared with their mouths agape at the spectacle before them, the tormentor helpless at the feet of his victim. They all shook their heads no.

"What have you done to me Hiccup!" Snotlout roared.

"Have you ever heard of a Speed Stinger Snotlout?"

"A Speed what?"

"Didn't think so. Congratulations, you just got stung by a juvenile... I hope you didn't want to use those legs of yours for the next 15 hours or so."

"You better fix me right now Hiccup!" Snotlout warned.

"Trust me, I'm so scared right now." He mocked, "Even if I wanted to, I don't have a cure for Speed Stinger venom. I only met them two days ago."

"You trained a Speed Stinger in two days?" Fishlegs asked.

"No... I trained it in one day, we've spent the last day travelling."

"That's impressive. I'm not as well versed in the Speed Stingers as some other dragons but from what I can remember it's one of the most aggressive dragons out there."

"You can say that again."

"What's it's name?" Tuffnutt asked.

"He doesn't really have a name; I wasn't planning on keeping him, just helping him get better before I returned him to his pack."

"Oh! Oh! Can I name him!" Tuffnutt eagerly asked. Before Hiccup could answer he shouted, "His name should be Speedy!"

"Umm... I guess Speedy it is."

"What are ya doin here Hiccup?" Gobber asked.

"I wanted to know the real reason you guys are here." Hiccup replied as he glanced over at a cowering Fishlegs.

"Oh, that's easy, we're hunting a Boneknapper." Tuffnutt offered. Gobber and the other teens glared at him. "What? He let me name his dragon."

Hiccup smiled, "And what makes you think the Boneknapper exists?"

"We'll you know the most important part; you might as well know the rest." Gobber replied, "The dragon has been hunting me since I was a teen, before I lost all my limbs. I've seen him plenty of times."

Hiccup pondered this for a minute. "Alright, you've peaked my curiosity. And besides, I love a challenge. I'm in."

This took the group back a little.

"Say tha' again?" Gobber asked.

"I'm always up for finding new dragons, if you say the Boneknapper exists I definitely want in."

"Absolutely not!" Snotlout yelled. "Your too dangerous to keep around Hiccup. And besides, you're an Outcast, we are not working with an Outcast."

"What's your plan?" Hiccup asked, ignoring the boy at his feet.

"Find a dragon grave yard and hang around until the Boneknapper shows up." Gobber answered.

"Good, but that will only work if you know where one is, do you?"

"Well, umm... not exactly." Gobber answered.

"Fortunately, I do. So, do we have a deal or not?"

"Let us talk it over." Gobber replied as he turned to the group.

"Can someone help me over there?" Snotlout asked.

"We already know your answer Snotlout, just stay there for a second." Astrid smirked. Let him roast a little at Hiccup's feet.

"So… Snotlout, how's my uncle?" Hiccup asked as he put his foot on Snotlout's back and stabbed his sword into the ground next to the boy's head.

Back with the rest of the group Gobber asked, "Well, what do we do?"

"He doesn't seem that dangerous." Fishlegs admitted, "Well, he is dangerous, but he doesn't seem like he's going to kill us, or Snotlout would be dead right now. And he probably knows more about dragons than any of us do. No offence Gobber, you know more about killing them, but Hiccup lives with them."

"None taken."

"However, there is the issue of him threatening to kill us, a couple of times."

"Did you see he let me name his dragon?" Tuffnutt asked, "I'd say he's cool."

"If he can take Snotlout out, he has my approval." Ruffnutt added.

"What do you think Astrid?" Gobber asked.

"He's supposed to be the key to saving the village, now would be a good time to start earning his trust back. Let him see Vikings can change. What do you think Gobber?"

"It would be nice to spend time with him again. See if the old him is still in there." Gobber admitted. "We'll give him a trial run."

They turned to the boys standing by the fire.

"Well, Hiccup," Gobber started, " I gue-" Astrid cut him off.

"What are you planning for Berk? Are you going to destroy us or what?"

"I hear that's in your hands." Hiccup answered as Fishlegs started to whistle. Astrid glared at the burly boy before nodding to Gobber.

"Ya got yerself a deal." Gobber called out, "Where's the graveyard?"

"Any of you ever been to the Nest?"


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N) Hey everybody, I'm feeling nice... and I'm exited about posting the next chapter so I've decided to post early. As for replying to reviews, I've decided to answer at the beginning of each chapter.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **MMM: You know he is :)**

 **PlaidOtaku: I said at the beginning of this adventure, which will come to an end next chapter, that he'd been away for five months. I know it's easy to miss but it's the first paragraph in chapter seven.**

 **Hope you all enjoy :)**

 **-CdnChrgr**

 **Chapter 9**

"The Nest Hiccup?" Gobber asked.

"Well it is the home of the dragons. They live there, they die there."

"Are you out of your mind!" Astrid yelled. "We'll all be killed the second we enter that fog bank.

"I know for a fact that you've been there before. And yet, here you are." Hiccup answered.

"And we both almost got eaten by a dragon the size of a mountain."

"Your overreacting. I pretty much live there. As long as you stay out of the center of the volcano your fine. Half of the time the dragons there are sleeping anyways. If you don't bother them, they don't bother you."

"So yer plan is to just sail right in there and go to the Nest? Just like tha?" Gobber asked.

"Pretty much."

"It's never been done before Hiccup, not in 300 years of searching."

"But unlike you, I know how to keep the dragons from attacking _and…_ I know the way."

"Wow, I think Hiccup's actually gone insane." Tuffnutt commented. "I like it."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Look, the only reason I'm letting you come at all is because you have information I might need. For instance: why does it keep coming after you Gobber?"

"Tha's a long story. And if it's information you need, I think it's in my best interest not to divulge that information right now."

"Very well, I'll find out tomorrow, if you guys come with me. There is really nothing stopping me from leaving without you. I've trained plenty of other dragons without your help. So, are you coming with me or not?"

"Absolutely NOT!" Snotlout shouted.

"Then stay here and fend for yerself Snotlout. The rest of us are goin with him." Gobber said.

"Humph."

"Well I'm going to bed; it's bound to be a long day tomorrow. Don't mind speedy, he'll just run around for the night. Speed Stingers are nocturnal you know. He'll keep watch over us as well. Goodnight." Hiccup nonchalantly told the others like it was to be expected.

And with that Hiccup laid down with his back against a resting Toothless and went to sleep. The rest of the group uneasily followed suit. The snoring Night Fury and the quick Speed Stinger making sleep come slowly for them.

o~0~O~0~o

The next morning, the group quickly packed up camp and set back out to sea. The morning was crisp and cloudless. It promised to be an excellent day for sailing even if there had been a small patch of ice on the deck when they first got up.

The teens were straining against the ores while Gobber steered. Hiccup stood at the bow, one foot resting on the prow as he looked longingly to the sky. He was travelling by boat for the first time since he found Toothless and found it very… boring.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" He asked as he looked over to a dosing Toothless sunning himself beside him.

"It's a boat Hiccup, what do ya expect?" Gobber yelled across the deck to him.

"Not much to be honest. You know I could be to Dragon Island and back by now if I wanted to."

"Well, not all of us ride a dragon."

Just then Speedy Ran from one end of the boat to the other in between the rowing teens. The dragon had been trying unsuccessfully all day to find shaded area he could sleep without being tossed by the waves.

"Hey, watch it!" Snotlout yelled to the small green dragon.

"Relax Snotlout, he's just trying to find a good place to sleep, let him be." Hiccup called out as Gobber's pet sheep Phil nervously tried to run the opposite direction of Speedy and almost knocked Snotlout out of his seat.

"These animals have it in for me." Snotlout muttered, "Wait a second, why do we have to row, but you don't?"

"Because I'm the navigator Snotlout. You row, I tell you where to row." Hiccup replied with a smile forming on his lips. "Oh how the mighty have fallen."

"This doesn't mean ANYTHING!" Snotlout yelled, "You just had the night sky to aid you last night, that's why I lost."

"Just like when the sun was in your eyes during dragon training?" Hiccup asked.

"YES… No… what? STOP TRYING TO TWIST MY WORDS FISHBONE!" Snotlout yelled back much to the group's amusement before glancing over at Speedy, "Why couldn't you have stung my upper half. I can't feel my legs, I can't get my revenge, I can't even go to the bathroom by myself and yet I still have to row." He grumbled under his breath.

Somehow, Hiccup managed to hear Snotlout, or at least had a pretty good guess as to what he was saying, "You'll feel them in about another hour or so Snotlout. Fishlegs… What does the Book of Dragons say about Boneknappers?"

"Umm, legend says that this dragon's roar is so fierce, it can melt the skin right off your bones."

"Not so Fishlegs, the Boneknapper has no roar. It's a silent killer. That's why he's terrifying." Gobber retorted.

"Wait… so if we don't hear anything, were dead?" Ruffnutt asked.

"I don't hear anything." Tuffnutt commented.

An uneasy silence settled on the group as they digested this information.

 **ROOOAAAAAAR!**

Everyone jumped as the blood chilling roar sounded loud across the deck.

"Ha-ha, good one Toothless." Hiccup laughed and scratched Toothless' chin as the dragon gave a happy warble to his rider, "Now, Gobber, when was the first time you met the Boneknapper?"

"Lets see, I was a young lad, about your age, on summer vacation with my family. We were sailin through a pack of ice. That's when I heard it, tha call of nature. After I relieved myself I saw an army of Vikings, frozen in battle. Clutched in the fingers of one of the Vikings was a small treasure chest...I had to have it. Usin me axe I smashed the ice, reached in an pulled out tha chest... It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. But the frozen Viking was still alive! He started punching me in the face! And there it was...I never even heard it coming...The Boneknapper! It crashed into the glacier, causing an avalanche of frozen Vikings! I landed on a nearby ice berg, only to find the frozen Viking punching me in the face again! That's when I lost me tooth. Then tha Boneknapper came after me again. He wanted that treasure...but I wanted it more!"

"You expect us to believe that a frozen Viking punched you in the face" Snotlout asked

"Yeah, twice!" Gobber held up two fingers for extra effect.

"Hey, it could happen." Hiccup acknowledged. "Depends on how fast they were frozen. Must have been something pretty significant for an army to be frozen all at once."

"What do you mean 'it could happen'? It did! But I outsmarted the silent beast."

"Um, Gobber, I hate to be a stickler for details, but... Boneknappers are not silent." Fishlegs pointed out.

"Fishlegs, I know what I didn't hear. But, I could feel it..."

"And were here." Hiccup called out. "Helheim's gate."

The group turned to look at the flowing wall of fog that hid the nest from view.

"Take us in." Hiccup called out with an air of authority. As the boat started to turn Hiccup asked "Gobber, what was in the treasure chest?"

"Why it was a stunning belt buckle." Gobber said as he lifted his shirt to show it off. "It's kept me pants up fer years."

"Well it is stunning." Fishlegs commented as fog started to engulf them.

"Ok, enough about me an the Boneknapper. Tell us about what you've been up to Hiccup."

"Oh, you know, here and there. I spend a lot of time on Dragon Island-"

"Dragon Island?" Snotlout asked."

"That's what I call the island the nest is on." Hiccup replied as the boat became surrounded in the fog. He'd have to be careful he mused as giant black sea stacks became visible.

"OH, OH, OH!" Tuffnutt shouted out, "Can we see it?"

"See what?" Hiccup asked.

"Your scars! They must look awesome!"

"Ya! Show us Hiccup!" Ruffnutt exclaimed as her eyes lit up.

"Ha, I bet they're nothing." Snotlout cried out.

"I wouldn't mind seein fer meself how ya healed." Gobber admitted, "Yer father wouldn't mind knowing as well."

"What, so he can know how strong his enemy is?" Hiccup shot at Gobber.

"No, because you're his son." Gobber replied.

"HE DISOWNED ME!" Hiccup yelled.

Before Gobber could reply Tuffnutt rolled his eyes and yelled "So do we get to see them or what?"

The grouped watched in anticipation as slowly, Hiccup grabbed the hem of his shirt and started to nervously pull it over his head. 'Why is this so hard?' He wondered to himself. Inch by inch the shirt travelled higher up his stomach and the group held their breath as they saw this unexpected sight slowly being revealed before them. Finally, after antagonizing slowness, the shirt was off and dropped to the deck with a metallic clunk, the secrets hidden inside unfortunately lost to the fabric. Three deep, pale lines ran parallel to each other from his left shoulder across his chest and down to the right side of his stomach. The edges of the scars were not a clean line, but jagged and torn mountains in his flesh. But the scars weren't what surprised the group the most.

"Wow… Hiccup… You got some muscle." Tuffnutt commented.

Hiccup wasn't sure how to take that. Though he wasn't "buff" he had more muscle than when he had left. He still wasn't as strong as most other Vikings, but he had been working hard in the forge, with dragons and in training.

Ruffnutt absentmindedly started to talk to herself, "Oh my… me likey." And started to drool.

"Oh gross." Tuffnutt commented as he tried to hit her with his ore. "Hiccup, I think your muscles and your scars broke her. Now what am I supposed to do?" he continued as he turned his head back towards Hiccup. "Wait, how did you get the one on your arm?"

Hiccup glanced to his left arm, the skin was a pinkish colour in three large patches. "About a month ago I was trying to train a Change Wing for about the fifth time. This time it decided to kill me and shot some acid at me. It was a close call but I ended up killing it instead." The murderous glint in his eyes making his audience shiver. In truth, it had been Toothless that had killed the Change Wing but they didn't need to know that. No use letting them think he was weak… still.

"Wow, that's so cool! I wish I had some battle scars like that!" Tuffnutt replied.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, "Trust me, you don't."

Astrid was taken back by both Hiccup's appearance and Ruffnutt's reaction. She didn't know whether or not to be jealous. Sure, there had been a spark when Hiccup took her on that first flight, but so much had happened since then. But even more so than the muscles or the two fresh scars, her vision was drawn to the older marks on his arms and torso. Little small cuts that had crisscrossed his body at one time or another.

"What made all those?" She asked as she pointed to the little white marks.

Hiccup glanced down again. These scars were a big part of the reason he had left. His body tensed and his eyes turned cold as he glared at the group. "Some of these are just from working in the forge, but most of them are from you." He pointed his finger at the group.

"Oh ya." Tuffnutt spoke up and pointed his finger to one on his right shoulder, "Wasn't that one from the time me and Ruffnutt tied your feet together at the top of the steps to the Great Hall?"

"That was fun." Ruffnutt addressed her brother.

"Yes it was." Hiccup casually replied, anger starting to rise up inside of him, "And this one over here is from when Snotlout decided to throw a rather large sized rock at me." He pointed to a mark just below his ribcage.

"Which one?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup just ignored him, wishing he could drive his sword through the teen as he spoke, "And this one here is from when the three of you tied me up to a sapling and proceeded to use it as a catapult. Oh, and you'll love this one." He said as he pointed to a faded gash on his side, "I believe you all were present for it."

"Wasn't that when we threw you off that cliff into the water?" Ruffnutt asked.

"Yes it was. Unfortunately for me, you guys didn't throw me far enough. I scraped several rocks on the way down.

"I hate to break it to you Hiccup, that wasn't an accident." Snotlout revealed.

'Easy.' Hiccup thought to himself, 'You need them, you can't kill them yet.'

Gobber recognized the subtle shaking, the laboured breathing and the slightly bowed head in the teen that stood at the bow of the boat. It meant the teen was angry at his tormentors. But something else was there as well. Hiccup stood with his shoulders straight, leaning towards the small group with confidence in his eyes. His fists were tightening into white balls of fury. Gobber could see the boy was trying to remain calm but was ready to snap in way none of the other teens thought possible. He needed a way to get Hiccup thinking about something other than the cause behind the scars or things might turn violent; and with the Night Fury and the Speed Stinger so close, he doubted they would win. Much to his relief, Fishlegs beat him to it.

Looking shamed, but eager to get off the topic of scars Fishlegs asked "How did you manage to put on that much muscle in such a short amount of time?"

"Well, when you ride dragons everyday you use more muscles than you'd think." Hiccup explained as he started to put his shirt back on, still seething with anger but starting to calm back down. "Plus, I've been forced to make my own forge since I can't use Berk's anymore." This was in fact true. He had been building his own forge ever since he had accidently blown up the Outcast's trying to store Zippleback gas for later use. Turns out explosive gas and hot coals don't get along too well. "I've been dragging around metal like you wouldn't believe and with the number of dragons I've been interacting with you defiantly get a work out."

Snotlout just scoffed, "Ha, you want to see some real muscle? Check these out." He said as he smugly started flexing his arms and kissing his biceps, the previous conversation about Hiccup's scars being completely discarded. "This is real muscle, right Astrid?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. She would have punched him if he had been in range.

"And yet you still lost to me yesterday." Hiccup pointed out.

He glanced at Toothless who had started to stand beside him a noted the way his head was facing. "15 degrees to starboard Gobber."

The group travelled on in silence for a few minutes before Gobber spoke up, "Why don't ya tell us some of your other adventures Hiccup? Ya can't disappear for five months to go live with dragons without having at least a couple stories to tell."

Hiccup thought for a moment, "Well there was the time when I found a Thunderdrum, I believe it was the one that was harassing Berk's fishing vessels a few months back."

"You knew about tha?" Gobber asked.

"Sure I do, just because I don't live there anymore doesn't mean I don't go back to visit." Hiccup said with a smile.

The group nervously shifted in their seats. He actually had only been back to Berk once when he was gathering his things from Gobber's forge. He had only heard the story from an Outcast who had heard it from Johann, but it was enough to get him to investigate.

"Lets see, I found it and it started to attack, but being on a Night Fury I was easily able to dodge around it until nightfall. I was able to lose it and follow him back to where he came from. It was an island not to far from Berk actually." He glanced at Toothless again, "30 degrees to port." The boat slowly started to turn. "Anyways, where was I?"

"You followed a Thunderdrum to an island." Tuffnutt supplied.

"Thank you. So I followed the Thunderdrum and found another one wounded in a cave. It took a little bit to get the two dragon's trust, but when I drove off a pack of wild boars they were ok with me. I've been nursing the wounded Thunderdrum back to health ever since."

"Cool." Ruffnutt said.

"Ya, found three orphaned, baby Thunderdrum as well. They wouldn't shut up until the first Thunderdrum got control of them. He's the only one they'll respond to." Hiccup smiled as he thought back to the small family.

"They'll probably be that way until their adult voice come in." Fishlegs offered, "That will might take a few years though."

"Great." Hiccup sarcastically replied, the smile wiped off his face.

A strange structure appeared in the fog and caught the attention of everybody.

Slowly a wrecked ship materialized out of the mist. They only just managed to sneak by, the mast of their ship scrapping against the figure head of the wrecked one.

"Oh, tha's were that went." Gobber remarked as they passed it by. He turned back to look Hiccup in the eye, "Why don't ya tell us another one?" He asked as he tried not to dwell on the fate of the previous expedition.

"Well there was the time I found two Scauldron's in a cove."

"Those are the dragons that shoot boiling water at you, right?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yep, found that out the hard way." Hiccup remarked, "Turns out it was a courting pair. Didn't figure that out until I got too close. The male was eager to show off to the female by killing anything within sight. I just happened to be that anything."

"Were you killed?" Tuffnutt asked.

Hiccup turned to look at him and considered what he would say. "Sadly, yes." He hung his head a little in mock respect for his dead self before raising it to look Tuffnutt in the eye, "But… I… Lived." He dramatically finished.

Tuffnutt sagged forward a bit and looked around at the others. "Phew, that's a relief."

"You're an idiot." Ruffnutt replied.

"Anyways," Hiccup continued, "I almost took a couple of blasts to the face before I decided to give them some privacy. Me and Toothless just decided to fly home." The fog was starting to clear by this point and Hiccup could see the top of the volcano through the fading mists while the sounds of hundreds of dragons slowly became audible to the humans. "That's our goal Gobber." He said as he pointed it out.

"Well I can see tha. It kinda obvious."

"Just run us up onto the beach when we get there."

"Will do. Say, have ya had any human contact since you left?"

"Well sure I have. There was the time I went to Berk and met you."

"Well other than that."

Hiccup thought for a moment. There was no way he was going to tell them he was actually living with the Outcasts. The less people knew he worked with them the better. "Well there was the time I stole all of the Lava Lout's gold."

"You did what!" The group shouted at once.

"What can I say, when the dragons raid, I raid. How do you think I get the stuff I can't make on my own?"

"Even still, it can't be just that easy to get yer hands on all of it." Gobber pointed out.

"It wasn't. But when the dragons are attacking they don't care about guarding stuff. All they're doing is defending the place. And besides, I knew exactly where it was."

"How did you know that?" Fishlegs asked

"Being the son of the Chief has its advantages. Though Berk may not be on friendly terms with the Lava Louts there are treaties and such to keep things from getting violent between the two. Every so often treaties have to be renewed. I went with the Chief on a diplomatic expedition to the island one year. We got a tour and everything. I remembered them showing me their safe. They were so proud of the Booby traps they had set up to get to it and boasted that even if some one could get past the traps, the safe itself was uncrackable."

"So how did you do it?" Astrid asked.

"Easy, I dodged the traps and cracked the safe. I had the advantage of training with dragons and the fact that I'm a blacksmith. However, by then the raid was over and the men had come back to guard the safe. Fortunately, I had planned for this. I got some whispering deaths to dig out a small cavern below it. I stomped my foot on the ground and Toothless shot out a support holding up the ceiling. A hole opened up and I jumped down. From there it was just a matter of me and Toothless flying through the tunnels out into the open air."

"How were you able to see down there?" Fishlegs asked.

"I didn't, he did." Hiccup replied as he pointed to the Night Fury. He made to go pet the black dragon, but discreetly inserted a hardened gel into Toothless' ears instead. He'd place some in Speedy's ears later. Almost instantly the dragon snapped out of his trance. It had taken some trial and error, but with the amount of time Hiccup had spent here he had finally found a material that could block out the Queen's calls. Fortunately for Hiccup, nobody noticed it. They might have figured out the secret to finding the nest if they had. Astrid already knew, but he was confident she wouldn't tell. She hadn't as of yet, so why should she now.

"Night Fury's can see in the dark?" Fishlegs continued asking.

"Outside, yes they can. But they'd need at least a little bit of light to be able to see. In a cave, they'd be as blind as you and I.

"So how did you do it?"

"As far as I can tell, they can emit sound waves and somehow the echo lets them pinpoint obstructions they wouldn't otherwise be able to see."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Fishlegs replied. "I'll have to add that to the book of dragons."

Ah yes, the book of dragons. One of the reasons Hiccup had let the group tag along. Sure he could just kill them and take the book, but he still needed them. Fishlegs mostly. There were also two members of the group he couldn't imagine killing. And if he left them alive they would surly try to kill him afterwards and he might not have the book yet.

His thoughts were interrupted as the boat ground against the shore line and came to a stop. He quickly jumped off the bow onto the shore. As his feet touched the ground the noise of the nest instantly stopped. Their presence had been noticed.

"Were here." He called out to the others as he smiled to himself. Things were about to get interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N) Welcome back to the final chapter of this side adventure. This is the longest chapter of this story so far and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Guest Reviews**

 **Guest: No problem and I will definitely continue. I'm having too much fun with this to quit.**

 **PlaidOtaku: It was easy to miss so np. Actually you questioning it made me think about it more. As a result I now have another idea for a chapter that I'm exited for. As for Hiccup and Alvin, if I separate the two you'll definitely know.**

 **Have fun reading everyone :)**

 **Chapter 10**

It didn't take long for the Berkians to unload their supplies and follow Hiccup to the grave yard on the other side of the island. At first the group had resisted leaving the ship unguarded, But Hiccup had assured them the dragons would pay it no attention.

"Why did you make us anchor so far away?" Astrid asked as she dragged some of their camping supplies behind her on a sled. Not that she minded the physical work she was being forced to do.

"Because there's too many rocks the around the North side of the island. You wouldn't far before being dashed to pieces. Then what would you do? Being shipwrecked at the Nest isn't the way I think you guys want this to go. And I'm not ferrying you all back to Berk on Toothless." Hiccup replied.

"How long do ya think we'll be here before tha dragon shows up?" Gobber asked as Phil tried for the 16th time to hide under his master's legs. Gobber kicked him away so it wouldn't trip him up. The sheep really wasn't liking it here.

"Depends, a day, a week, a month. Who knows. And that's if the dragon even exists."

"The Boneknapper exists!" Gobber persisted. "And he wont leave me alone."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Hiccup replied."

Snotlout glanced to the sky and noticed that in the waning daylight dragons had started to congregate in the skies above them. "W-what's going on up there?" He asked.

Hiccup took a glance upwards, "Looks like they're getting ready to raid. It's a shame I can't join them really, I could use some more metal.

'Oh how the mighty have fallen.' Gobber thought to himself. Just a few months ago this boy had been part of the richest family on Berk, was heir to the Chiefdom and had been able to use anything in the forge to his hearts content. Sure, Hiccup wasn't the happiest, but he had been provided for. Now he was being reduced to thievery.

More and more dragons started to fill the air and the tension throughout the group rose.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Astrid asked. "Last time we were here not even Toothless could withstand the Queen's calls."

"Relax Astrid, it wouldn't be much of a raid if you were raiding your own shores. Were perfectly safe-"

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

"PHIL!" Gobber called out as a dragon swooped down and grabbed the sheep.

"Oh, safe like Phil?" Snotlout asked.

"What can I say, dragons are dragons. They're forced to obey the call of the Queen and the Queen is saying bring her food. In all my time here I've never actually seen a human delivered to her so we should be fine. Dragon's themselves actually despise red meat. They prefer fish. I'm sorry about Phil, Gobber." Hiccup said as he put a hand on the blacksmith's shoulder. "But in all honesty, was bringing a sheep on a dragon hunt really a good idea?"

Gobber didn't even look up to his former apprentice, "I guess not."

They continued on for a while until they rounded a cliff face, only to be met with the sight of thousands of gleaming white bones in front of them.

"Welcome to the dragon graveyard." Hiccup called out. "Smells lovely, peace and quiet, lots of quiet company… What else could you ask for when choosing a camping spot?"

The group groaned at the dry humor.

"Best of all," Hiccup called out, "The dragon's here on the island tend to avoid this area. They don't like to disturb the dead."

"Well that's a relief." Ruffnutt answered as she kicked at a bone.

Hiccup started to make his way over to Toothless, who had all the food aboard the ship packed onto him. "I'll let you guys unpack while I cook supper… how does that sound?"

"Sounds fine to me." Gobber answered, "What're you makin?"

"Lamb chops."

o~0~O~0~o

Though a little nervous from being so close to the Nest, the group managed to sleep somewhat soundly in lean-tos made of dragon bones that night. All that is except for Hiccup, He slept in the warm embrace of his dragon.

Come morning, Hiccup was the first to wake up. He stretched his limbs and gazed out into the perpetual fog as the first signs of daylight made itself known.

"What do ya say we going flying bud?" Hiccup asked his best friend. Toothless needed no encouraging and the two of them made off without another sound.

A half hour later Hiccup was back and standing over burly Viking teen.

"Fishlegs." He whispered while giving the boy a gentle kick. The boy groaned a little. Hiccup leaned don and whispered "Fishlegs." again while cupping his hand over the boy's mouth.

Fishlegs started awake and made to defend himself against his attacker.

"Easy there Fishlegs," Hiccup quietly said, "We don't want to wake the others."

"And why wouldn't we want to do that?"

"Because I have a special job for you to do."

"And what is that?"

"I need your advice, but they wont like you helping me. Is that clear?"

"And why would I help you?"

"Because I said I'd get you guys here… I Never said I'd get you out." Hiccup let the threat sink in. The boy's eye's widened in shock.

"You wouldn't dare, would you?" A hint of uncertainty was clearly present in the boy's face.

"Why wouldn't I? The lot of you made my life miserable for 15 years! What's keeping me from leaving you to the dragons."

Fishlegs shrunk back as he weighed his options, he meekly nodded his assent. "I'll do whatever you want. What is it?"

"I want you to hop on Toothless' back."

Fishlegs gulped.

Soon the trio were up in the air. Hiccup and Toothless loving every moment. Fishlegs was just trying not to throw up.

"Can you slow down?" Fishlegs asked.

"What, don't say you couldn't get used to this."

"Maybe on a Gronkle, but I could do with a little less fury."

Toothless grunted.

"No offense!"

Hiccup laughed, "We'll slow down in a minute, but whatever you do, keep silent until were safe."

"Until What!"

With that Hiccup changed the tail position and Toothless folded his wings. It was all Fishlegs could do to hold on and keep from screaming his head off as Hiccup made for an opening in the Nest. He tried to make his large frame as small as possible as they flew threw the tiny opening. He could hear snoring dragons as the trio swiftly twisted through the dark maze with the grace of a swan and the speed of an eagle.

In mere moments, Fishlegs found himself at the center of the volcano. The large crater in the center spewing gas from below and hiding anything that may be down there. 'Isn't this the place Hiccup said it wasn't safe?' He thought to himself as he visibly gulped once again.

"Here, put this on." Hiccup softly called out as he reached back to give Fishlegs a soaked bandana before putting on one of his own. "Make sure it's covering your mouth and nose, It's the best way I've found to filter out the gas."

No sooner were the bandana's in place than Hiccup called out. "Don't worry, she's sleeping, I checked."

Fishlegs barely managed to get out an "Who is she?" before his eyes widened in realization. The glimpse of the giant dragon in Gothi's vision was made famous by the two Thorsten Twins who had managed to eavesdrop in on Astrid and the Chief's meeting with the elder and had spread the story around the town before sundown, much to Astrid's embarrassment. Before he was able to protest Hiccup had them diving down into the glowing hole.

Fishlegs did his best not to make any noise as the trio descended down trough the billowing gas. It smelled disgusting, but he was relieved to find that the bandana over his face was doing a fairly decent job. In mere seconds, he found himself out of the gas and inside a furnace. Or at least that was what the cavern felt like. It was huge. Easily bigger than five great halls put together. The floor was made of a lake of molten lava that belched steam and gas which slowly funneled itself to the hole in the rocky ceiling. The walls were covered in huge claw marks from the beast that had dug the cavern out.

The heat was unbearable, the air felt like it was searing his lungs. He was struggling to breath, until his breath was taken away when he caught sight of the beast. The frightening creature that dozed half submerged in the glowing lava lay sleeping in ignorant bliss of the trio of intruders flying around above it.

This dragon was easily 400 feet long. It had teeth the size of trees in a curved mouth and a giant horn on it's ugly face. A frill adorned its head and six bumps on the face indicated a lack of a blind spot. Red spines were visible all down the beast's back and its tail ended in a giant spiked mace. Though sleeping, the creature was still terrifying and Fishlegs was secretly glad no one had ever succeeded in finding this place before.

After making a few circles of the beast Hiccup finally started to climb and the three of them made their way silently back to camp.

Astrid prided herself in being an early riser. She was usually up and about training or preparing for the day well before anybody else. So she was surprised when she got up to find Hiccup and Toothless had left before she got up. She was even more surprised when she found Fishlegs was missing too. Not knowing what Hiccup was capable of she wondered briefly if Hiccup had done something to Fishlegs. She brushed the notion off with the thought that if Hiccup was going to do something, it would most likely be to Snotlout or the twins and not the burly teen. She couldn't help but worry for him though.

She was only up for about 15 minutes before Hiccup and Toothless landed in the camp with a small gust of wind. She sighed in relief when she saw Fishlegs sitting behind Hiccup. She smiled when she saw Fishlegs' pale face, remembering her first wild ride with the Night Fury and his ridder.

"How in the world did you get Fishlegs to go on a ride with you? Did you kidnap him too?" She greeted.

"Kidnapped!" Fishlegs shrieked as he hurriedly jumped off the dragon.

Hiccup smiled as he dismounted as well before turning to Astrid, "Not this time. I just threatened to leave you all at the Nest." Truthfully, he was hoping Astrid was still asleep, but she had kept enough of his secrets already that he didn't think another one could hurt. He watched as Toothless blew plasma in a circle and lay down to go to sleep while the humans talked.

"I hope you didn't give him too much of a hard time. The poor boy looks like he's seen a ghost." Astrid gestured over to Fishlegs.

"I was just hoping I wasn't going to become one." Fishlegs defended.

"Oh come on Fishlegs, flying isn't that bad." Astrid replied, "After Toothless decides he likes you and stops throwing you into the ocean it's actually kind of fun." She said gesturing to the two soaked teens.

"That's not water, it's sweat; and the flying I could deal with… The Queen I wish I didn't have to see."

Astrid turned to Hiccup who was dismounting and quietly whistling at this point. "YOU TOOK HIM TO THE QUEEN!" Their sleeping comrades restlessly stirred at this outburst.

"Shhhhh, you'll wake the others. If I'm going to take out the Queen I needed some info about her, and Fishlegs is the best there is when it comes to dragon stats." Hiccup answered.

Astrid rolled her eyes, she didn't need dragon stats to recognize the Queen was something you couldn't beat.

"Is that it's name?" Fishlegs asked. "The Queen?"

"That's more like her role, she controls them. I've been referring to her as the Red Death."

"Sounds scary." Tuffnutt who had woken up at Astrid's outburst, and who was dressed in nothing but his underwear and helmet, intruded into the conversation and startled the three.

Hiccup face palmed, "Is there anybody else we want to include in this conversation." He dryly asked.

"I don't know, lets ask. HEY EVERYBODY! DO YOU WANT TO JOIN IN ON A CONVERSATION ABOUT A RED DEATH?" Tuffnutt yelled. Hiccup groaned.

Fully awake the group got up and joined in.

"A Red what?" Snotlout asked.

"A Red Death." Tuffnutt answered, "What one is I have no idea."

"Sounds like fun, lets try it." Ruffnutt jeered.

"Ya!" The twins butted helmets.

"Oh for the love of- It's not a thing you do, it's a dragon." Hiccup told the twins.

"What type of dragon, it sounds powerful and deadly. Can I kill it?" Snotlout asked, "Will it bring glory and honor to the name of Snotlout Jorgenson?"

"No you can't Snotlout." Fishlegs answered.

"And why not?"

"Because this dragon is over 400 feet long with teeth alone that are thicker than you precious muscles."

"You've seen tha Queen?" Gobber asked.

Fishlegs glanced over at Hiccup who was giving him a threatening glare and gestured over to Toothless, "Hiccup may have… ummm… convinced me to go on a ride on Toothless this morning. That's when I saw it."

"Cool!" The twins chanted at the same time. "Can we have a ride?"

"NO!" Was the quick answer.

"Oh come on." Tuffnutt replied, "Why do Fishlegs and Astrid get a ride but we don't?"

"Because I said so."

"Party pooper."

"Anyways," Hiccup redirected, "I took Fishlegs to the nest so I can know what to avoid when I do try and kill it."

"You, kill a dragon?" Snotlout laughed, "You couldn't even kill a Night Fury who was tied up and helpless. How are _you_ , Hiccup the Useless, going to take out a 400-foot dragon?"

"By not holding back like I have every single time you've opened your mouth this whole trip." Hiccup coldly retorted.

"YOU WANT TO GO? RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! I'LL POUND YOU SO HARD YOUR NIGHT FURY WONT EVEN BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE YOU!"

"Umm guys?" Fishlegs tried to interrupt.

Hiccup unsheathed his sword and roared " **BRING IT** "

"Guys?" Fishlegs tried to interrupt again but the whole group was focused on the squabbling pair in front of them.

"Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight." The twins chanted.

"Hiccup, your better than this, show them you're not the monster they think you are." Astrid interjected.

"Snotlout, now's not the time or the place." Gobber tried to hold the teen back.

 **"GUYS!"** Fishlegs yelled in a voice that surprised everyone.

"WHAT!" They all yelled at once. Fishlegs nervously pointed behind the group.

"The Boneknapper is right behind us, isn't it?" Hiccup asked as his shoulders sagged a little.

The group turned to see a huge dragon had creeped up on them while they all fought. Unprepared, the unarmed, except for Hiccup, teens froze at the sight of it. It was green underneath the gleaming polished bones and the walking graveyard stared menacingly at them, especially Gobber. The dragon rose up and made like it was going to roar, the group froze in anticipation. But what came out was more of a silent gurgle.

"Well what do you know, no roar." Fishlegs noted before they all started to run with the exception of Hiccup who stood resolute in the face of this new dragon.

Hiccup tried his best to keep the dragon's attention from the fleeing teens, all he needed was a few moments with it he figured.

The group found cover behind a rather large ribcage and watched from a safe distance.

"What's he doing?" Astrid nervously asked as Hiccup dropped his sword and started talking to it.

"Looks like he's trying to get eaten." Snotlout smirked.

"I hope not, that would be a good waste of some pretty awesome battle scars." Ruffnutt mused.

Suddenly the dragon tried to walk around Hiccup. Annoyed at the dragon's loss of interest he made to grab at it. Wrong move he thought as he took hold of one of the dragon's bones.

Furious the dragon turned toward him and Hiccup knew he was in trouble. He desperately looked around for the sword he discarded but knew he wouldn't have enough time to defend himself. He brought up his hood and attempted to cover his face as the dragon quickly drew gas into it's mouth.

"HICCUP!" Astrid and Gobber both yelled as the flames engulfed the boy. Toothless frantically jumped to his feet and tackled the Boneknapper when he realized what was going on and a small fight started.

Astrid covered her face and Gobber lowered their head when they saw the blackened figure that had been Hiccup moments ago, frozen in its place. His clothes had been burned away to reveal that he had a chainmail vest on underneath that now glowed red, searing into the boy's charred chest.

"Hah, I knew the fishbone would get himself killed." Snotlout triumphantly declared over the sound of fighting dragons.

"That was cool!" Tuffnutt said.

"The scars!" Ruffnutt cried out.

"Snotlout, you know what this means don't you?" Tuffnutt asked.

"What?"

"You'll never get to prove your better than Hiccup now."

"Hahaha." Ruffnutt cackled, "Your forever second."

"Am not! I could have easily beat him!"

"You'll never know."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Astrid happily declared as the figure slowly moved his arms and grasped the chainmail to pull it off. The molten metal easily peeled off the boy's chest and fell to the ground. Astrid ran towards Hiccup, though she was happy he was still alive, she feared the worst. 'How long will he survive? What will this do to his mental faculties now? How bad is the damage?'

Then the figure did something she hadn't expected. She slowed as Hiccup grabbed the top of his head and started pulling at his skin. The black substance easily pulled away to reveal an undamaged face looking at her.

"YES! IT WORKS!" The boy laughed.

"What, how did you… Why are you not dead?" Astrid asked.

"No time to explain." He answered as he scooped up his sword and started running.

Still hiding behind the ribcage, Tuffnutt gawked on, "WOW, he rides a Night Fury, beat Snotlout, died to a Scauldron attack and came back to life, stole all the Lava Lout's gold and he's fire proof! Is there nothing this guy can't do? He's like invincible or something like that. Don't get on his bad side."

"And jus where do ya think you all are?" Gobber asked.

The teens paled at this suggestion.

"An here he comes." Gobber pointed out as Hiccup started running over towards the group with Astrid in tow.

"Hiccup. How did y-" Snotlout started.

"Gobber!"

"What?"

"Take off your pants!"

"WHAT!" Everyone cried out at once.

"Never mind." He said as he swiped his sword at the blacksmith, skillfully cutting through the bottom of his shirt and the top of his pants without cutting him. "It will take to long to explain." He cryptically replied as he gabbed the fallen belt buckle and took off towards the fight.

"HEY!" Gobber called out as he hobbled after the boy while attempting to keep his pants from falling down. "That's my treasure, not yours! Bring it back."

Hiccup ignored him as he neared the fight and called out, "Toothless! Get back!"

Obediently the dragon retreated, covered in a few cuts from the Boneknapper but nothing too serious. The Boneknapper itself was only missing a few patches of it's armour, the bones snapped in two, but the bare patches of skin were bleeding profusely.

Hiccup put himself between the two circling dragons and addressed the Boneknapper. "I think this is what you want? Isn't it?" as he held out the buckle.

The dragon paused and narrowed its eyes as the human that should be dead walked slowly closer to him with his hand outstretched, the prize held out towards him. He allowed the human to get closer but remained on guard.

Gobber finally caught up but before he could intervene Toothless began growling at him. Gobber threw up his hands and his pants fell to the ground. The Teens turned away quickly and shielded their eyes.

"That was something I could have lived without seeing." Tuffnutt cried out.

"Ya, I think that was something we all could have!" Snotlout yelled.

Hiccup began calmly talking to the dragon, trying to sooth him and soon found himself in front of the dragon's chest. He tentatively reached up and placed the bone in the hole he had seen in the dragon's armour just before he was barbequed.

A golden glow spread out from the bone when it clicked in place. The dragon stood up tall and triumphantly roared into the sky. Hiccup smiled when the dragon turned from gleefully calling out to the world that he had a voice to the small boy.

Hiccup held out a hand and the Boneknapper graciously accepted. The group turned in shock as the giant, bleeding dragon turned into the equivalent of a loyal puppy dog and literally rolled over in enjoyment as Hiccup scratched it and laughed.

"See, there's nothing to be afraid of." Hiccup called out to the group.

"That may work for you, but I'm not getting anywhere close to a dragon if I'm not there to kill it." Snotlout called out.

Hiccup let out one sharp whistle.

Snotlout, confused went to open his mouth but then felt a sharp pain in his right arm. Suddenly he found that he couldn't move the right side of his body as he caught Speedy racing away. He tried to yell out 'Hiccup!" But all that came out was "Hic-mph!" The teens laughed at his uncomfort.

"So, is tha it?" Gobber called out.

"This guy wont be bothering you again Gobber. I'll make sure of that." Hiccup replied.

Gobber glanced at his mace lying inside his lean-to. "Well I guess tha's that." He replied, not wanting to anger Hiccup now that he had three legendary dragons by his side.

"Hiccup?" Astrid called out.

"Yes."

"How are you still alive?" She asked as she pointed to Hiccup's still smoking black body.

"Well when you live with dragons you pick up a thing or two. Dragons are mystical beings imbued with magic. I've learned some of it." He smiled, that wasn't even close to the truth. Actually Hiccup had just made a suit from dragon skin and rubbed it with charcoal to make it black instead of red. He had wondered what made dragons fire proof on the outside and the only solution he could come up with was dragon scales weren't very good heat exchangers. When something hot, like dragon flame, hit the scales, they insulated the flesh underneath it from getting burned, thus he was fireproof. He'd never been able to try it before his accounter with the Boneknapper, but he was satisfied with the results. He was still standing, wasn't he?

"How did you do that?"

"Sorry mi' lady, that's all you'll get out of me." And with that he turned and walked away. He had several wounds to tend to on the dragons.

o~0~O~0~o

It didn't take long for the group to pack their things and make it back to the ship, especially with the two larger dragons acting as pack mules. As promised by Hiccup, the ship was undamaged. It appeared some dragons had ben a little curious as some items had been knocked around but it didn't take much to clean up. In no time at all the ship was underway again, bow pointed back towards berk.

Hiccup, once again on the bow with Toothless, called out to Gobber, "Just follow the Boneknapper Gobber. He'll lead us out."

The blacksmith glanced up at his past tormentor who was gleefully roaring to no end. "Alrighty Hiccup." The blacksmith called out and gave a Thumbs up.

With that Hiccup turned towards Fishlegs. "So, Fishlegs, what can you tell me about the Red Death?"

"You're really going after that thing?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yes I am."

"Your Funeral. The Red Death has a heavily armored skull and tail made for bashing and crushing. You'll need to steer clear of both. It had small eyes and large nostrils. Relies on hearing and smell."

"Good, anything else I might need?"

"It would appear under close examination to have either six eyes or strange lumps above it's eyes. It may not have a blind spot."

"Interesting. I'll take that into consideration." Hiccup answered.

A dull thud was heard and they all turned to look at its origin. Snotlout had lost control of his half paralysed body again and had fallen over.

"Hicmph, hi aei ugh." Snotlout tried to shout.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Umm, I think he said 'Hiccup, I hate you?'" Tuffnutt suggested.

"You can understand him?" Astrid asked.

"What, sometimes when me and Ruffnutt are done hitting each other with hammers one of us can't talk straight. Were masters at talking Gibberish."

"It's true." Ruffnutt acknowledged.

"Well, then…" Hiccup shrugged, "I hate you too Snotlout, but for your sake I'm doing my best to keep from killing you."

"Can you?" Ruffnutt asked.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Ugh ont a I nuh ugh."

"He says 'You don't have it in you.'" Tuffnutt translated.

Hiccup smiled. "Whatever floats your boat Snotlout."

The Boneknapper roared again as finally, they made it out of Helheim's gate.

"Ugh, is he ever going to stop?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, legend does say the Boneknapper's roar is its mating call." Fishlegs answered.

At that moment similar roars could be heard in sky. The group looked up to see five more Boneknappers join the group.

Hiccup groaned, "Great, more baby dragons to look after." He deadpanned.

The group laughed.

"So what now?" Astrid asked.

"I leave, you all go back to Berk, everybody is happy." Hiccup replied.

"Well, not everybody ya know." Gobber mentioned. "Your father still misses you."

"And I wish I could slice his throat with my sword. He's not my father, just my sire. Now if you excuse me I'll be leaving." Hiccup felt a hint of anger flare up inside him. 'Why couldn't they leave his father out of this?"

"Now Hiccup, Stoick is trying ta make amends, give him a chance."

"A GAVE HIM A CHANCE FOR 15 YEARS! I'M DONE WITH HIM! SPEEDY! TIME TO GO!"

With that Hiccup mounted Toothless as the Speed Stinger closed in behind him and jumped on behind him. "By the way, looks like a nasty storm is coming, you al better hurry. Happy sailing." He called out as the trio took off before anyone could stop him.

"HICCUP! WAIT!" Gobber called after the fleeing boy, but he was already gone.

"Gobber? Why aren't the Boneknappers leaving?" Astrid asked.

Gobber turned from the slowly shrinking figure to the six dragon starting to circle closer and closer to the ship. "I don't know… Get yer weapons."

The group hurriedly rose from their rowing positions and got ready to defend, all that is except Snotlout who was having enough trouble moving around on his own. The first dragon came close, but not close enough to hit, before unleashing a stream of fire into the sea beside the boat. Steam rose up out of the water as the other dragons joined in. The visibility around the ship was soon reduced to less than five feet. The flapping of many wings could be heard but nothing could be seen.

"I don't like this." Fishlegs nervously called to the others.

The group froze as a familiar high pitched screech made itself known. The small explosion was clearly heard and the flash visible to all, yet the ship was still intact.

"Hah! He missed." Tuffnutt triumphantly declared.

Suddenly a black shadow streaked toward the ship. A loud thud was heard and the ship pitched to the starboard side, throwing everyone off their feet. Before anyone could recover their footing it was gone.

Slowly the fog dissipated to reveal an empty sky.

"What was that all about?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs looked around to find his seat blown apart. 'Oh no.' He thought. He raced over to inspect the damage. "He didn't miss. A Night Fury never misses." He exclaimed as he rummaged through his stuff that had been thrown about in the explosion.

Perplexed, Gobber and the other teens watched as Fishlegs tore through his belongings. "It's gone." He exclaimed.

"What's gone?" Gobber asked.

"The Book of Dragons."

"Stoick is not goin ta be happy."

o~0~O~0~o

There was no crowd to greet them except for the Chief and the parents of the teens as the boat made its way to the dock. Who could blame the village though with the blizzard that was striking Berk and reducing the temperature to -25.

"Did you have much success?" The Chief asked as Gobber stepped onto the dock, the teens were already hugging their parents.

"Ya, saw six Boneknappers in total." The blacksmith commented as the two turned to head to the warmth of the Great Hall.

"You actually saw several?" Stoick asked in disbelief. "Do you have any trophies?'

"No, just a different belt buckle and a need for a new pair-a-pants now."

Stoick raised his eyes.

"Ya see, we not only saw a flock of Boneknappers, we saw a Speed Stinger, a Night Fury, a certain AWOL boy and tha Nest."

As each item was listed off the Chief's eyes grew wider and wider and the look of shock grew.

"I… I think… You and I need to talk Gobber."

"Ya, we do. But yer not gonna like it."

o~0~O~0~o

An hour had passed before Gobber finally finished his tale. The two sat near the fire at the main table in the Great Hall. For once the chief sat speechless. He was angry at Gobber for putting the kids in such a dangerous position and for loosing the Book of Dragons, but he was also conflicted. What would he have done if he was the one who faced Hiccup. Would he have gone to the Nest too? Would have tried to kill on sight? Would he have made the same mistakes? The problem was, he didn't know.

"Well, what are ya thinkin?" Gobber asked.

"It's a lot to take in… That boy has done more in a few months than an entire Archipelago has done in 300 years."

"Ya, you should be proud of him."

"I am, but how am I going to fix this Gobber? How did this happen? In less than a year Hiccup went from being… well… Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training and proving himself as a worthy heir, finally. An now he's traitor, a thief and scourge of the Berkian tribe?"

"I think you've both made choices you regret. Ya need to find him, sit down with him and try and sort this whole thing out… An leave tha weapons by tha door."

"If he wont listen to you, how will he ever listen to me?"

"I have no idea Stoick." The blacksmith honestly admitted, "All you can do is keep trying. Whenever you see him in the next few years, if you see him, try and be the father ya never were."

Stoick met Gobber's gaze with hurt eyes, giving rarely seen emotion. The Chief shed a tear for the first time in 15 years.


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N) Not as much action as the previous chapters, but necessary details for the continuation of the plot.**

 **I also have a question for you all at the end of this chapter so be sure to stick around for that.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **MMM: Yep, a lot has happened, and I never really believed Stoick was a horrible father, just a poor one. The little falter in his step after he disowns his son in the movie and his attempts at repairing their relationship prove that. As for Heather, will she make an appearance? Yes. Will she be a love interest? I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything by saying no.**

 **PlaidOtaku: That was kind of my goal with Stoick, but I think I'll only go for one more chapter to get feeling out of you. And for Alvin… Many horrible things.**

 **Brenne: We'll see what happens with Snotlout, but he's not the main character you should be worried about… For now. I'm also looking forward to writing more and posting.**

 **Guest: Thank you, and I like this Hiccup too.**

 **Happy reading** **:)**

 **Chapter 11**

The snow swept surface of the cove didn't mask the beauty of it one bit. The small inland lake was frozen solid and the snow glistened in the sun. The surface was absolutely smooth except for the occasional criss-crossed tracks of small mammals and birds. There were few trees inside the cove but the towering giants overhead were covered in a blanket of white.

Astrid sat in the center of it all on a rock that Hiccup had no doubt sat on countless times while hiding Toothless. She was dressed in heavy furs to keep out the blistering cold that tried to freeze her solid, but the cold wasn't what was bothering her today. She was lost in her own little world, reflecting on the events that had transpired before the week long storm that had changed the landscape.

In truth, nothing was the same anymore, she knew that. Hiccup had started something much more dangerous than any dragon raid and it had all started right here. Hiccup had told her the whole story after that first flight. It had begun right at the edge of the pond when Hiccup had thrown away his dagger and given that dragon a fish. Right in that very moment when he had shown kindness and compassion to a hated enemy. A friendship had been started that threatened the Viking way of life. If something wasn't done soon, she knew there would be no going back.

She came out of her thoughts for a moment to take another look around the cove. The few trees were covered in the claw and teeth marks of a Night Fury. On the rock she had dusted off and was sitting on she had uncovered a rusted hammer, one Hiccup had doubtlessly brought to the cove to help work on the saddle. It was still frozen to the rock. 20 feet away from her, underneath an overhang in the cliffs sat 3 prototype saddles Hiccup had worked on and discarded. They were incredibly well made and protected from most of the elements by the rocks above it. She knew from experience there were also a few drawings of Toothless in there and a few tools. Somewhere under all this snow was the bag Hiccup had left when he had first thought of running away, before her first flight.

As much as she hated to admit it, this cove had changed not only Hiccup, but her as well. She had seen how playful and loyal Toothless was towards his rider. From now on, if it was at all possible, she would try the peaceful approach. She could never look at the dragons as mindless killing machines again, but, if the need arose, she would defend her village with deadly intent.

Then there was this deal with Gothi's vision and her role in it. The fate of the entire village rested on her shoulders. Hiccup was a part of it she knew, but how was he going to help her? He hated this village and everything it stood for. He hated its stubbornness and its thirst for dragon blood. He hated its ideals that the strong survive and the weak suffered underfoot. But who was there to actually help her in this quest if Hiccup wasn't around. There had been no one else indicated in the vision.

Her gaze continued around the edges of the cove until she caught sight of the saddles again. How was she going to find Hiccup anyways? He was out gallivanting around the archipelago on the back of his dragon doing who knows what and where? Even if she did set out on a boat to find him, the only way she would be able to catch up to him was if she was on the back of a dragon herself…

'If I was on the back of a dragon myself.' The thought ran through her mind over and over. 'Was it possible?' Could she show Hiccup that Vikings could change? Could she show him that he had indeed changed the mind of one stubborn Viking and therefore there was hope in changing the minds of the others? The more she thought about it the more it made sense in her mind. Not only would she be actually able to search for Hiccup with some chance of success, she would also have a dragon protector for her out there. Someone she could trust with her life, just like Hiccup trusted his to Toothless. Someone she could confide in; someone she could stand up against this black creature with?

With that she made up her mind, She'd be 16 by the time the snow melted. Technically an adult in Viking culture. She'd take a ship out to sea with the intention of finding and taming a dragon. She could try and tame one of the dragons in the ring. The Nadder seemed tempting. But without Hiccup, the one who actually had experience, she didn't want to go into a caged area with a bunch of angry dragons who were used to fighting Vikings and possibly held a grudge against her. Heck, she had hit that Nadder in the face with an axe. A dragon raid, she knew, wasn't the time or the place to train a dragon and they didn't just wander berk during the day. If she was going to do this, it would have to be off of Berk, away from the prejudice of her fellow Vikings and in the wild. Even if she couldn't get a ship, a dinghy would do. It only had to last until she found dragon for herself.

With her mind made up, she got up and strode out of the cove, refreshed with a plan of action. Now all she had to do was start prepping, and convince the Chief to let her go.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup dodged another blow from the hammer that was constantly trying to deliver a death blow. He hated Eid and his training sessions, no matter how much he knew he needed them. The fight with Snotlout had, after all, only been a shallow victory. He had relied on Snotlout underestimating him and then his pure rage clouding his decisions. He had to be ready for next time, otherwise the childhood bully would become victorious. He doubted Snotlout would be compassionate if he gained the upper hand.

Stoick had tried to teach him to fight when he was younger, but no matter how hard he tried, he just wasn't able to hold the weapons the other kids were using. His father never bothered to teach Hiccup to fight in other ways. Stoick had believed that to be deadly you needed strength and willpower to overcome your enemies. That was how he dealt with the Berserkers back in the past and the dragons today. He had seen Hiccup with his dagger and always tried to make him give it up in exchange for a more Viking like weapon instead. Eventually Stoick had become fed up and sent him off to the forge.

Now, with his rusted short sword (he wished he could have made himself a new one but he was too busy preparing for the Red Death to make one) at the ready he was dodging blows and sending them towards his teacher. Fuelled by his anger and lust for revenge, Hiccup pushed himself in ways he had never dreamed of before. He was quickly putting on much needed muscle in the forge, riding dragons and working out in his spare time. With a weapon more tailored to his size he was pouring himself into training, sparing with his teacher, his fellow students and with the dragons. With each one of his human opponents he pictured the face of one of the Berkians. Eid alone reserved the face of Stoick the Vast.

Truthfully, Eid and the others had treated him mostly with respect when he arrived. Well with as much respect as an Outcast could give. They feared his dragons and as such feared him. The Lava Lout's gold had also been put to good use bribing some of the higher ups. He trusted these people about as far as his money went, but even bought loyalty is still worth something. Speaking of which, that chest was beginning to run low, he'd have to fix that soon.

The reason he actually hated the Outcasts was because of how they viewed him. Sure, they treated him with respect, but they saw him as a tool. A means of which to seek glory and power for themselves. They valued his way with the dragons, not him. Alvin in particular felt this way, he hated the way Hiccup was always undermining his authority and talking to him as an equal. Hiccup reasoned that if he actually showed the Outcasts how to interact with dragons without dying, he'd be dead.

o~0~O~0~o

It had taken some work to convince the Chief to let her go. Eventually though, Astrid had convinced him to let her seek Hiccup out… On one condition, her class mates went with her. Stoick even provided a boat. Though he didn't actually know that she was going to attempt to train a dragon, she considered this a mental victory.

She had spent the past few weeks in the cove striping the three prototype saddles of tail fin components and repairing any damage with some leather she had bought from Gobber. With that done she packed the three saddles in a box in her room, covered them with the excess leather and covered them both with her belongings. She figured she could probably use the prototypes as a base and adapt the saddle to work with her dragon, whatever it happened to be. It would hopefully be better than some rope at least.

With everything packed away all she had to do was store away food for the voyage, wait for the ice to melt and let her expedition begin. She couldn't wait.

 **So, Astrid is going to train her own dragon. Sorry for all you Stormfly lovers, but one of the things that has bothered me in most fanfictions is that Astrid always gets Stormfly (Excluding Hitchups). I figured that if you remove certain events, (namely, Hiccup) you would remove the reason the two came together.**

 **Now for the question. I've already decided what kind of dragon she's going to get, no I'm not going to spoil it. But I am asking for names. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know. See you guys next time eh?**


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N) Hello everybody. I want to start by apologizing for the last chapter. I re-read it and realized my spelling was atrocious. Then when I tried to fix it, it decided to go all confusing computer text stuff. I fixed it though so it should be good. To make up for it I'm posting this chapter early. Enjoy.**

 **I'd also like to say that I finally have a bio-written for my account. Go check it out if you want. If your interested in finding out more about Astrid's dragon I have included the species in the bio. There's a clear spoiler alert right before I mention the species so if you don't want to ruin the surprise you can skip over it.**

 **I also included and idea for a modern AU fanfic that I might start writing if I can get some good feedback on it.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Brenne: You know it. And thanks for the name suggestions, not what I'm looking for yet but keep them coming :)**

 **Guest: Np and Thank You Very Much!**

 **PlaidOtaku: Soundcloud is cool, but doesn't really match what I'm envisioning. Sorry. But I love those words too. Thanks for understanding as well.**

 **Happy Reading :)**

 **Chapter 12**

Snow and ice was being furiously whipped around by the wind once again as another storm pelted the island. It tore through the land like a screaming death through dirt and did its best to knock over anything in it's path. The blistering cold that accompanied the unwelcome storm did it's best to invade every nook and cranny in the land, but its quest for total domination was kept at bay by the roaring fire that blazed in the hearth of a small cabin atop Dragon's Volcano.

Hiccup was lying on his bed and bored out of his mind waiting for the storm to pass. It had been raging for nearly a week and showed no signs of letting up. He knew he was experiencing cabin fever but there was nothing he could do about it. He glanced over at the dark mass over in the corner. Toothless was snoring away peacefully atop the rock he used as a bed with Speedy lying peacefully on his back. Both dragons as well as the ones waiting out the storm outside had put themselves in a state of semi-hibernation to pass the time. Hiccup was not so lucky. He wished so badly that he could just go for a flight, or at least go for a short run to wear of some energy.

He had spent most of his time working in the small forge he had attached to the back of his hut making devices that should help with taking out the Queen. It was a long and tedious process that had come to an end when he had run out of Zippleback gas.

After that he had made himself a throwing knife, but not just any old throwing knife. He had poured his whole heart into this knife. He smirked as he tossed it I the air and then caught it again. The blade itself held a secret. Inside the blade snaked a maze of hallow tubes that lead from the hilt of the knife to the edges of the blade. These had been hard make as each tube was barely the size of a pin. The hilt was a different story, it held a container that at the push of a button would start to ooze its contents. The theory was that the centrifugal force exerted on the knife when thrown would propel the contents through the tubes and line the blade. All he needed now was a test subject, Eid might make a good target.

At the moment the hilt was filled with Speed Stinger venom. Anybody hit with the knife would instantly be half paralyzed. As the Speedy got older, the venom inside the hilt would get stronger and hopefully would completely paralyze the victim. He planned on making at least one more for Speed Stinger venom and two more that were to be filled with Nadder poison.

He abruptly threw the knife at the figure in the corner. A wooden cut-out of Stoick had been erected and the knife sailed right between the figure's eyes. He'd had a lot of time to practice.

"Some father you turned out to be." Hiccup muttered under his breath. Usually he didn't let his mind hover on such thoughts, but today was an exception. He glanced at the calendar for about the eighth time that day. Today was an especially special day, February 29th, his birthday. His _real_ birthday. He was officially 16, an adult in the eyes of his fellow Vikings. "Some birthday this turned out to be."

He felt anger rising within him as he glanced towards the cut-out again. He got up, walked over and ripped the knife out it. Letting the anger continue to rise he turned away and paused. With a roar he drew his sword and hacked the image to bits. His fury was enough to wake Toothless who crooned in confusion before walking over to his fuming rider as Speedy fell to the ground in annoyance.

Breathing deeply above the pile of splintered wood, Hiccup suddenly felt a scaly head push it's way underneath his arms. He looked down and his anger faded as Toothless happily crooned up at him. He idly began to pet his friends head, "I know, you just want me to be happy, don't you bud?" Toothless continued to croon. "It's just hard being this alone when you should be with family and friends. Not that I really had any back home anyways, but at least dad used to try." He sighed as Toothless warbled sadly.

"Makes me almost wish for Snoggletog again." He reminisced. The two weeks he and Toothless had stayed at the dragon's nesting ground over the holiday had been busy. It was an interesting challenge attempting to help the new mothers tend to the babies. Though he found them cute at first, they had quickly developed into more than a nuisance by the end of the unplanned "vacation." He had been glad when the dragons started their return migration, though he was a little disappointed no other Night Fury's had shown up.

Hiccup walked back to his bed and flopped down. Speedy jumped up and attempted to snuggle close, he was in the middle of a growth spurt and would soon be too big to fit, but it worked, for now. Toothless sat on the floor and laid his head on Hiccup's lap. Hiccup started to gently scratch Toothless underneath the jaw and the big dragon started to purr happily. Speedy gave an insulted squawk and Hiccup laughed. "Someone wants attention I take it?" he said as he started to pet him with his free hand. Soon the green dragon was happily chirping away. "Well, at least I have you two to keep me company." He smiled.

Slowly, with the wind still howling its anger outside the walls, the three of them drifted off to sleep.

o~0~O~0~o

The wind was still howling outside as Stoick sat by the fire in the Great Hall. In his hands he held one of the only two possessions of his son he had left. Hiccup's helmet had been left behind in the kill ring when he had left and it had made it's way back to his father. The other possession was the self portrait with Toothless Stoick had saved from the wreckage of the house that he always kept tucked away in his coat pocket.

He had never rebuilt that house, instead he opted to take up residence in a corner of the hall. That way there was one less building to be destroyed in dragon raids and he could be closer to his work. Truthfully, that was all he had left now. His family was gone and so his tribe had become his focus. It wasn't the same however. Now he had nothing to drive him to do his best. He had no family to make Berk a better place for. Being Chief had lost all meaning when Hiccup had left.

The fellow villagers had noticed it to. He still did a good job, he was still Stoick the Vast after all, but the drive was gone. He didn't stand as tall as he used to, a few of his hairs had started to turn grey and his famous temper and stubbornness had lost its edge. Astrid had already taken advantage of that a few times already.

Most of the time he had ben able to push through the loneliness he experienced, but holidays were especially painful. Back at Snoggletog he had pushed through by pouring himself whole heartedly into preparing the celebration, but it didn't trump the fact that he was decorating the square while everybody else was partaking in traditions as a family.

And then there was today, there was no getting around the fact that he was missing out on his son's birthday he thought as shifted the helmet in his hands. Hiccup should be with him right now, in his fathers embrace inside their house. He'd give his son… something. A notebook? Squid ink from Johann's ship? Not that it really mattered, Hiccup wasn't here and he might not ever be again.

He ran a hand over the horns that adorned the helmet and sighed, "I'm sorry Valka." He cried out to the wall, "I failed. I wasn't the father I should have been, I let you down and now our son is in trouble. I- I don't know what to do."

Oh how the gods must think this amusing. Here he was, a Chief, known for his expressionless and unfaltering personality, ready to break down in tears. He had a wife who had been taken and killed by dragons and a son who had foolishly gone and sided with the beasts. And there he was, the Chief, who was in charge of the most powerful tribe in the archipelago, who had killed hundreds of dragons with his bare hands, who had led the most expeditions to find the nest, who had sworn that he would wipe every single dragon off the face of the earth himself, who had been powerless to save those who had mattered most to him in his life.

He slowly put the helmet down beside him and lowered his head into his hands. Slowly he began to mutter, "Why me?... Why me?"


	13. Chapter 13

**(A/N) Welcome back to the next chapter of Disturbed Reflections. You know, when I first started to post this story this was the last chapter I had written. Back then I had a vague idea of how I wanted this story to progress but nothing too elaborate. To show you how much this story has changed since then, when I first wrote this chapter it was supposed to be chapter 7. Then we got the Speed Stingers, Boneknapper, and other scenes. I am happy to say that I now have a 90% complete plot line that is way more elaborate than anything I could have ever dreamed of when I first started writing. I would like to thank you all for reading, favouriting and reviewing. It's made writing this fanfic very enjoyable to plan and write and I'm always enthusiastic to post another chapter.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Brenne: I'd love to share my plans for Stoick, but that would be spoiling this story. As for Hiccup… Oh yes.**

 **Superhuper2639: Thank you very much and I will definitely be continuing.**

 **Guest: Every time I read your review I burst out laughing! This is the best comment ever! Please continue!**

 **Although I'm not going to officially say it, you could view the last chapter as the end of Part 1. You could say whenever Hiccup has a birthday that is the end of a part. So I guess, here's the beginning of the unofficial part 2. Happy Reading**

 **Chapter 13**

Hiccup was in his element. He and Toothless were high in the clouds, away from everything. The Outcasts, the training, the dragons he was in charge of. In this cool, crisp air he was free of responsibility, on the ground, he was becoming more and more stressed. He knew that if he didn't take time to go flying, sooner or later he would end up killing someone. He couldn't do that, not yet anyways. Besides, it wasn't fair to keep Toothless on the ground.

Up here in the clouds, Hiccup could be himself, whoever that was. He had a sense of who he was but he wasn't quite sure. He thought back to the first day on the island Toothless had brought him to when he was injured. He remembered the reflection he had seen when cleaning his wounds. He could see himself, he was there, but something was wrong about the picture and he couldn't figure out what. The more he thought of it the more disturbed it made him, so he left it alone.

He smiled noticed a small convoy of ships down below, something to keep his mind off of his thoughts.

"What do you say we have some fun bud?"

Toothless grunted in agreement. The dragon folded his wings and the two plummeted to the ocean below.

o~0~O~0~o

Trader Johann stood on the deck of his ship and watched the two other ships silhouetted by the sunset sailing behind him. Ships in the archipelago rarely travelled in groups, but lately getting into Berk had been somewhat challenging. Dragons were constantly coming out of nowhere and harassing the merchant vessels. It was strange, dragons never used to come out to sea, sure there was the occasional Scauldron or Thunderdrum, the sailors were experiencing Nightmares, Nadders and Zipplebacks on a continual basis. The hope was the larger number of ships would hold the dragons off.

Though not exactly rich, Johann owned the small ship he stood on and that was enough for him. Everything was going well for the seaman, the seas were calm, a smooth day of sailing was coming to an end and so far, there wasn't a dragon in sight…

A shriek pierced the air and a crew member from another ship yelled "Night Fury!" followed by another fearful sailor yelling "Get down!"

Johann threw himself to the deck and braced for the impact that was sure to come. A flash of purple shot down from the sky and struck the water right in front of his ship, the powerful explosion throwing the bow five feet into the air. Water rained down on the deck and the shockwave strained against the sail. In mere seconds his ship had been brought from full speed to a sudden stop. Wares were thrown everywhere and Johann had to grab at the railing to keep from slamming into a crate of goods.

Then he saw it. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself was hovering right above him, a figure starring down from the dragon's back. Johann gasped. With the greatest of ease the two alighted on the deck of his ship, which promptly sank a few inches lower in the water. With a graceful hop, the figure dismounted and strode boldly towards him while silhouetted against the sun, a small sword hanging from his waist obviously visible.

"Ahh, Johann." The dark figure spoke. "It's been a while since I've seen you."

"Do ah… do I know you?" he nervously stammered, the black dragon so close to him obviously making him uncomfortable.

"You should" he replied as he walked around the frightened trader, the light finally starting to reveal some of his features. He wore a black shirt and a black pair of pants. Both were tattered and in need of replacements. It would appear from the creases in the shirt that he had some sort of armour on underneath as well. The face was pale and with the sun finally shinning on it Johann was able to make out who was speaking.

"Oh, ah… master Hiccup, what a… what a pleasure it is to see you a… umm… again. What are you doing so far from home?"

"Oh you know, this and that. I like to explore. Keeps me and Toothless over here free to do whatever we want." He replied casually and with a crooked grin he asked "So, where in the archipelago are you off to this fine evening."

"Ah, -a- me and my companions over there were um… heading to your village actually."

Hiccup slowly drew his rusted sword- he never did get a replacement made during that storm. He had been to busy working on the three other knives, which were now complete and loaded. Eid had been literally frozen in place when he had first tested them out during a training session.

"You should know, there's a price to visit Berk now."

"S-Since when?"

"Since I said so!" Hiccup coldly replied as he pointed his sword at the man's neck. Johann could feel a nervous bead of sweat form along his forehead.

"Since you said so… I see. When did your… ah… your father pass on? It's such um… a shame to see a young man such as yourself become Chief so soon."

"You haven't heard yet?"

"To be honest, the dragons around that island of yours keep chasing us traders away, they're relentless. Nobodies been in contact with Berk for almost a year, but you should know that being Chief and all."

"I'm not Chief. My father is not dead yet, but he will be. I'll see to that. You see, me and my village had a little bit of a falling out. They don't like my close affinity with the dragons." Hiccup gave the trader a wild look, fire clearly burning in his eyes as he laughed sardonically.

"Ahh, ha-ha, I see. Why ah… don't you just put that sword away and we can conduct ourselves like honest businessmen." Johann put forth quickly, eager to change the subject.

Hiccup withdrew his sword from Johann and replied "Why not, if you try anything, Toothless will stop you anyways, wont ya bud?" as he scratched the dragon's neck. Toothless purred happily. "Seeing that you're the first group of sailors to receive this… tax, I'll let you off easily. The best weapon or two on this ship should do nicely. You can split the cost between you and the other ships. In return, I wont blow you up and the dragons will leave you alone."

"Y-you can help yourself." Johann nervously stammered. "T-t-take whatever you want. All the weapons are down below."

"Good, I'll do just that. Toothless. Keep an eye on Johann and the other ships for me will ya? If they try anything, sink them." With that Hiccup turned his back and left Johann alone with his dragon.

"Nice Night Furry." Hiccup heard Johann call out nervously to the black mass standing before him. The dragon gave the trader a curious stare.

Hiccup walked down the stairs to the lower hold and started looking around. He rummaged threw the swords and with an expert eye, pulled out one that shone brilliantly and matched his size. He ran his finger down the blade as a test and drew blood. Then he gave it a few swings and noticed it was perfectly balanced. "this will do." He smiled to himself.

He was about to climb the stairs when he noticed three thin, symmetrical blades sticking up out of a crate. He curiously held the weapon up. The three blades, each a foot and a half long ran parallel to each other side by side. They were connected to each other via a metal bar at the base. Underneath this, another bar hung down to act a grip for the weapon. A guard was placed just in front of the grip. A leather strap extended down from the grip about five inches to form a wrist brace. Hiccup gabbed the metal grip and strapped the weapon to his wrist. It now appeared that he had 3 claws extruding from his fist. "Perfect." He exclaimed to no one in particular with a sly grin on his face.

Hiccup strode out onto the deck, the claw in his right hand, the sword in his left. Johann couldn't help but shudder at the sight of this crazed teen looking straight at him.

"This will do for today. However next time you come through these waters it will cost you 20 pounds in gold. I am reasonable however, so if you're able to bring some information or artifact relating to dragons you will be free to pass. Be sure to spread the word about this. The next group of ships to pass through without payment will find themselves on the bottom of the sea."

"Ah… yes master Hiccup."

With that Hiccup jumped on Toothless' saddle and without a look back took off into the night, leaving a startled but still floating convoy in their wake.

o~0~O~0~o

Stoick was in a happier mood than he usually was as he walked down to the docks. Johann and two other ships were due to arrive sometime in the night and he couldn't wait to see what they had brought. He was hoping this batch of ships would actually arrive this time. Surprisingly, the three ships were actually waiting at the dock when he arrived.

"Chief Stoick!" he heard someone call his name.

"What now?" annoyed at not being able to go down to the ships, he grumpily turned in the direction of the call only to find Johann making his way over. "Oh, Johann, it's you." his eyes lifted from the frown that had appeared on his face. "What can I do for you."

"I have some mighty bad news for you."

"And what could that be?" The frown returned.

"It concerns your son, Hiccup. It would seem he's been keeping company with a dragon."

His eyes widened in shock, "Tell me everything." He knew he'd regret those words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

o~0~O~0~o

"I called this meeting on account that Johann here has some news for us."

Stoick and the other heads of the clans stood around the table in the mead hall again with Johann standing by the side of the Chief. He stepped forward.

"Ah, yes. Well you see there I was standing on the deck of my ship. It was a pleasant evening and all was well. Next thing you know I heard the dreaded scream of a Night Fury. I threw myself to the deck, fully expecting my ship to become my floating pyre. Then, a large explosion hit the water in front of my ship and nearly threw me overboard. That's when I saw it, the dragon was hovering over my ship. It landed on the deck and that's when I realized there was something odd about the shape of this dragon. It appe-"

"Can you please tell us the condensed version Johann?" Stoick asked. He knew if he let the trader keep telling his story the meeting would go on for hours. Johann nodded.

"Ah, master Hiccup landed on my ship waving a sword around like it was second nature. He demanded payment from me for crossing over to Berk. Took two of my finest weapons and explained that any ship coming to Berk better be carrying gold or dragon related information as payment or they would be sunk."

The crowd started talking nervously amongst themselves.

"Quiet, Quiet please." Stoick called out to his people. "Thank you Johann, your free to go."

"Yes sir Chieftain Stoick." The trader made a hasty retreat back to his ship.

"Now then, we have a problem. What are we going to do about this… blockade?" Stoick asked.

"This ain't no blockade!" Mildew called out as Stoick rolled his eyes. The one person he was hopping wouldn't speak. 'Wishful thinking' he mused.

"It's a bloody act of piracy!" Mildew continued.

Stoick narrowed his eyes as the crowd started murmuring in agreement.

"We could start sending Gold to traders for the tax." Mr. Thorsten piped up.

"Fat chance of that happinen" Gobber replied. "Berk is struggling enough as it is to keep up with gatherin resources for rebuilding after the dragon raids. Paying gold to Hiccup on top of that wont help us at all."

"This is an act of war!" the crowd turned as Spitelout spoke.

"Watch yerself, this is still my son your talking about." Stoick boomed.

"An you disowned him in front of the while village." Spitlout continued and Stoick lowered his head a little. "Now the lad is starting to terrorize the shipping around us. I say if the boy wants to play rough we start sending ships with the traders to defend them. It may very well be the only way to find the lad and take him down before he gets too out of control anyways."

The crowd murmured in agreement.

"Are there any other ideas people have?" Stoick hopefully asked.

No one dared to look Stoic in the eye.

"Come on, there's got to be something we can do other than wage war on a 16-year-old boy."

"He brought the war to us!" Spitelout shouted.

Stoick sighed, "Very well then. From this moment on we will send ships to escort traders to Berk. However, if the opportunity presents itself my son is to be captured alive!" Stoick's gaze turned to Spitelout in a warning glare. "I don't believe Hiccup is in his right mind and we need to do everything in our power to help him if we can. Spitlout…" The Viking mentioned turned to look at the Chief. "Since you came up with the idea I'm sending you out on the first escort."

"With pleasure."

 **(A/N) If you're still wondering about Hiccup's weapon, basically he has strap on wolverine claws. They match his scars nicely.**

 **See you all next time. Please Review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N) Welcome back to this next chapter. I'm really happy with how this turned out. I had fun making sure I got everyone's character right and just going with the flow from there.**

 **Guest Reviews** **(I think this is the most reviews I've had for a single chapter yet, thank you everybody for taking the time and letting me know what you think. It's great hearing from you guys.)**

 **: That last chapter with Johann was just a little set-up, but Inferno will not be making an appearance in this story. I'm giving Inferno an upgrade instead. Hiccup will make a custom sword, and it will be awesome and similar to inferno, just not yet. Hiccup doesn't even have Gronckle Iron yet.**

 **Brenne: Can't wait to give you more Villain Hiccup, I hope I can deliver. No he hasn't defeated the Red Death yet, I'm getting to it, but no, the Red Death wont be taking over Hiccup's mind. He is completely insane in the fanfic and driven by a lust for revenge.**

 **That Night Of Fury: Thank you for the compliments. Unfortunately no, magic will not be a major part of this. Everything Hiccup does will be backed up by science.**

 **MAD Marty: Thank you, and this comment made a future scene 10 times better, flow more and be more believable, so thank you again.**

 **Guest 1: Je ne peux pas attendre pour vous donner plus. Et oui, j'ai utilise Google translate donc si cela ne ve pas, blame google.**

 **PlaidOtaku: I can't wait to write this.**

 **Guest 2: HAHAHA, another review that had me rolling on the floor laughing :) Especially the Wolverine-Super-Hiccup! Please continue!**

 **Without further adu, have fun reading :)**

 **Chapter 14**

Metal clanged against metal as Gobber threw yet another sharpened weapon on the steadily increasing pile. He raised his arm and wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he turned around to the other large pile of weapons in the forge. Yet another dragon raid had plagued the village the night before. The livestock losses had been minimal, only two sheep and a yack had been taken. Fishlegs' early dragon raid system had come worked perfectly once again, giving the villagers an hour's head start to prepare for the battle. Even so there had been several injuries, two deaths and many burnt buildings. The repairs would take weeks and Gobber was swamped, desperately attempting to provide tools and nails to the workmen while repairing the dulled and damaged weapons used in the battle.

Ready to take a break from the sweltering heat of the forge, Gobber thought back to a time when the post-battle rush had been rather enjoyable. He'd ben able to take his time with his work, talk with the villagers who stopped by with an order and playfully banter with his apprentice. Of course it had been the help of that apprentice that had given him the time to do those things.

Looking over his shoulder as he grabbed his mug attachment, he called out to his new apprentice, a young lad named Gustav Larson, who was busily sweeping the floor at the moment.

"I'm steppin out fer a moment lad. Ya might as well take a break as well. Go grab a drink or somethin."

"Sweet! Thanks Gobber!" Gustave answered as he eagerly ran out the door into the sun. "Gustav, Gustave, Oi! Oi! Oi!"

Gobber shook his head as he limped out after him. The boy was getting more arrogant and prideful as time went on. It didn't help that he had pretty much become a willing slave to Snotlout, he practically worshiped the boy.

Gustav's parents had pushed the lad on Gobber when the blacksmith's apprentice spot opened up. They were concerned with how he was becoming more and more prideful, attempting to walk on the backs of others his age while at the same time doing almost nothing to earn his respect. Instead he was looked up to because of his close affiliations with Snotlout, who was most likely to become the next heir, even if nothing had been formally stated yet.

The goal was that by learning a physically demanding trade, Gustav would learn to value hard work as well as respect for authority and who's authority to respect. So far things hadn't gone as planned. The boy couldn't be entrusted to do anything. Whenever he swept the forge, he always did a half fast job. He was constantly pushing to do things he wasn't experienced enough to do yet. The boy was barely able to keep in his head which type of metal was good for what and yet just last week, Gobber had found Gustav in the forge, by himself, attempting to light the bloody thing. He had of course not known about the flue vent yet and if Gobber hadn't arrived when he did the whole forge would've been a pile of ash right now, effectively leaving the Vikings defenceless for at least three months until a new smithy could be built.

That was what had made Hiccup, well… Hiccup, Gobber mused as he made his way to the Great Hall for some mead. Hiccup was never prideful or arrogant and he actually knew his way around the forge. He wasn't as good as Gobber, he hadn't taught him everything, not yet anyways, but years of experience around his mentor had made Hiccup quite skilled. The tail fin on that Night Fury alone proved that Gobber thought with pride.

The boys blacksmithing had actually been quite useful to the village as well, even if he'd be the only one to admit it. No matter what, whether it be rain, snow or shine, the day after a dragon raid, Hiccup would be right there in the forge, on time, ready to tackle the multitude of damaged weapons with his famous sarcastic quips. He wished he could say the same for his new apprentice. Gustav didn't even have a sliver of sarcasm in his whole body.

Gobber finally managed to make it to the Great Hall, filled his mug with mead and sat down in a corner. No sooner had he settled down than a shadow appeared behind him.

"Afternune Gobber." Spitlout greeted, "Ya get ma sword sharpened yet? I'm goin' to need it by first light if I'm going to help those poor traders make it past that dragon scourge surroundin' us."

"Yer on yer way ta the meatheads tomora I take it?"

"Ya, they have ta make it past that useless fishbone somehow don't they?" Spitlout scowled. "I'm not sure why it's so difficult for them to take him down. Now how bout ma weapon?"

Gobber narrowed his eyes, and it was not missed by the Chief's brother. "Don't get yer skivvies in a knot Spitlout, I'm workin' on it. You'll have yer weapon by tomora, don't you worry."

"Now Gobber, what's goin on? Why just a year and a half ago an you would'a had all those weapons good as new by breakfast. You loosin' yer touch?"

At this Gobber stood up and looked the second in command in the eye. "Now don't you be insultin ma work there mister or you might not be getting yer sword back at all." Gobber coldly replied as he shoved his mug into Spitlout's chest. "Maybe a kitchen knife instead. I'll have you know I'm better than ever at what I do. Maybe if you an the rest of the village had payed attention ta Hiccup ya might not have to be waiting fer it, but if tha were the case there wouldn't be no reason for you ta need yer weapon so soon, would there?"

This time it was Spitlout who narrowed his eyes. "Easy there Gobber, if I wasn't mistaken, I'd almost say you were holdin' some sympathy up to tha boy."

"You better believe I'm givin' some sympathy to 'im. I feel sorry that he had to go through 15 years a torcher from you all!" Gobber's voice was at a yell now and steadily rising, drawing looks from surrounding Vikings. "I'm sorry that 'iccup was driven so low that his only option was to befriend a dragon! I'm sorry tha' even when we treated him poorly as we did that he still tried ta offer us a route ta peace, ta make our lives better, and yet you still refused to acknowledge 'im!" The village broke into angry murmurs as Gobber made his next point. "AND I'M SORRY THA THIS VILLAGE WAS TOO BLIND TA SEE THA BENEFITS THA HE COULD A GIVEN US OF HIS OWN FREE WILL!" At this Gobber turned and faced the staring Vikings around him. "INSTEAD YOU ALL DROVE HIM AWAY AND PUT US ON HIS BAD SIDE! 'ICCUP MAY HAVE HAD A PEACFUL NATURE TA BEGIN WITH, BUT I PITY THA FOOL WHO ENDS UP DEAD IN HIS SIGHTS!" Shouts of indignation rose up against the blacksmith at his words as they took a step forward to confront him themselves.

At this, Spitlout turned to the crowd. "THE LAD HAD IT COMIN!" The crowd instantly turned quiet as they focused their attention away from the blacksmith. "HE WASN'T A VIKING! WHEN THE GOIN' GOT TOUGH HE TURNED HIS BACK ON EVERYTHIN WE KNEW AND SIDED WITH THE ENEMY. IS HE DANGEROUS? NO. ARE HIS ALLIES DANGEROUS? NO MORE THAN USUAL!" Spitlout turned to Gobber "YOU PITY THE FOOL THAT CROSSES HIS PATH, I PITY HIM IF HE TRIES TO MESS WITH THE MIGHTY TRIBE OF BERK! TOMORROW WE SET SAIL TO PROTECT A FEW TRADERS. HICCUP _WILL_ SHOW UP AND WE _WILL_ PROTECT MORE THAN JUST A FEW SHIPS! WE WILL PROTECT THE VIKING WAY OF LIFE! NO COMPROMISE! NO MERCY! OUR ENEMIES WILL FALL BENETH OUR FEET AND WE WILL CRUSH THEM! HICCUP WILL GET WHAT HE DESERVES AND THAT NIGHT FURY WILL DIE!"

The Vikings cheered and turned back to their drinks. Gobber looked around as it appeared that not one of them had taken to heart what he had said. He wasn't really surprised, had they been here and not out on Astrid's expedition to find Hiccup, he wouldn't be surprised to find even the teens that grew up with Hiccup reviling in their tribe's glory.

Chuckling, Spitlout put a hand on the blacksmith's shoulder, "Thanks Gobber." He said quietly, "I couldn't have made such an invigorating speech without yer help." He smiled as he walked off.

Gobber shook his head as he made his way outside. He all of a sudden couldn't stand being in the same room as the drunk meatheads. "Yer underestimating 'im." He muttered under his breath. "Snotlout was the last to do tha', and look where tha' got 'im, frozen stiff as a board… Twice." He sighed as he made his way back to the forge.

o~0~O~0~o

The single man standing on the bridge let his gaze travel across the deck of his ship in the dying light. It would be dark before too long. He took in the polished decks, the perfect sails, the gleaming weapons, the battle hardened men scurrying over equipment and rigging, but his attention was drawn mainly to the four unused grapple-winches and empty dragon proof cages on deck.

The man and his crew were in fact dragon hunters, men who sailed the seas in search of dragons to capture, cage and sell for great riches. They had been sailing in the barbaric archipelago for over a week now searching for one particular dragon. A dragon with ebony black scales and a fearsome reputation. Only this particular dragon had become a sort of legend among the Viking's in the area. It never showed itself, never stole food and never missed. That in itself was not abnormal for a Night Fury, the man thought to himself, but the fact that the reports came with descriptions of a disgraced heir leading the dragons to battle on the back of such a beast were. Raid's had become more chaotic, deadly and damaging since the boy had come on the scene.

The man himself couldn't wait to see what this dragon rider was capable of, but if he was enthusiastic about meeting this figure, his brother was ecstatic. But then again, his brother was always exited when he had a new potential opponent to challenge. He had heard his brother comment that hopefully this dragon rider would be more entertaining than the one they were used to dealing with.

"DO YOU SE ANYTHING?" The man called up to the crow's nest.

"NOT A HEAD TO BE SEEN." Was the reply.

"WELL KEEP YER EYE'S PEELED. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER INCEDENT LIKE YESTERDAY."

"AYE SIR!"

Just because they were on a mission didn't mean that the hunters wouldn't take the opportunity to make some cash. Yet after a week of sailing that had come across nothing, save for the one lone Monstrous Nightmare that had shown itself the day before. It had come out of clouds right next to them and caught the crew completely by surprise. They had quickly scrambled to take the dragon down and his crew had done well he mused. They were all battle ready within 30 seconds, but that didn't help when the dragon had kept itself well out of range. It didn't attack like a dragon normally would, and it didn't fly away. It just flew next to them for a whole 15 minutes. They had tried to close the distance between them and the beast, but a ship isn't exactly known for it's speed and maneuverability.

Then they dragon had done something unexpected, it had started to angle itself closer, ever so slowly, inch, by inch, until an overeager crewman had shot one of the dragon proof chains at the creature. The man had put it too full power, but in the calm, the dragon had plenty of time to react and dodge out of the way before disappearing back into the clouds. A few trappers had shot some dragon nip arrows in the process, but none even made their way close to their target. Disappointed, the crew went back to work. His brother had said nothing since then, he had just retired to his cabin with a contemplative look on his face.

The sun disappeared below the ocean, revealing a moonless night and plunging the ship into darkness. A fog rose up out of the sea and completely enveloped them, limiting visibility to only a few feet. The man took a deep breath. "This isn't fog, it's smoke." He said to himself. "Get yer weapons ready!" He cried out to his men and once again, they were rushing to battle positions. In mere moments, they were all battle ready and waiting breathlessly for an attack. Several minutes stretched by in the complete silence, adding to the tension that every man felt in that moment.

A banshee like wail cut through the air from above like a cray of death and a man cried out "NIGHT FURY!"

"WHERE!" He yelled in excitement. This was it, the reason why they had come.

Before a reply could be yelled back to him, two blueish-purple explosions rocked the deck, illuminating the ship and destroyed two winches as well as sending men flying. A black mass raced past as the wail teetered out and a tearing sound was heard. The mass continued upwards before folding its wings and beginning to plummet once again before righting itself. It started screaming once again towards the ship with the familiar wail announcing the impending attack. Two more small explosions came forth and the two remaining winches were obliterated. With the ship rocking back and forth from the aftershocks and small fires starting to rage across the deck, the man on the bridge was the only one left standing. He noticed that in the confusion, the sail had been torn from the mast. He growled in frustration as he realized that in less than 10 seconds they had been rendered almost defenceless against any and all air attacks and dead in the water. "Put out those fires!" He shouted, trying to get some control over the situation again.

Not one man had been able to recover from the attack when a black dragon landed on the deck with graceful ease. A voice rose from on top of the beast. "No one move, or this dragon here will turn you to ash."

No one thought about disobeying, save for one.

The man looked to the side to see a familiar face making its way calm and collected from the captain's cabin. His brother had a slightly buff figure, was dressed in a sleeveless leather tunic with spiked shoulder guards. He had a scar running down the left side of his neck and had brown hair with a goatee. He began to clap his hands as he walked forward. "Well done Hiccup. Very impressive. You made fools of my crew whose very profession is hunting down the beast you ride… in a matter of seconds. I take it that Nightmare yesterday was yours?"

Hiccup crossed his arms as he leaned foreword and looked down at them with a smug smile across his face. "Well thank you for the flattery. Dragon hunters eh? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow you out of the water right now?"

"Now, now, no reason to be rash. Me and my brother over here have been travelling for weeks just to get the chance to meet you. It would be terribly unkind to kill us now that we've finally succeeded."

Hiccup contemplated this, "Dragon Hunters, coming all they way out here to look for me? Someone who sides with the dragons. Maybe somebody hired you to kill me and my dragon?" Hiccup accused with a raised eyebrow.

"Hiccup," the figure consoled, "you're terribly mistaken. We mean you no harm. My name is Viggo Grimborn, and my brother over there," He pointed to the man up on the bridge, "Is Ryker. Did someone hire us to find you? Yes, they did. To kill you? Not yet."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed, "You still haven't given me a reason not to kill you."

Viggo smiled, this boy wouldn't be sidetracked, he mused, fun. "Because I'm part of something bigger. You've been making a name for yourself and my employer is interested. After all, it's not just anybody who can control the dragons. He wants to know more about you, whether or not you'd be worth his time to meet, face to face. If you want in on his enterprises, you'll play along."

If it were possible, Hiccup's eyes only displayed more hostility behind them. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because were willing to give you a gift. We've done some looking into you, we know from first hand accounts that you smart, inquisitive and good in a forge. What could be of more use to you than the recipe for a metal that is both stronger and lighter than regular Iron. We call it Gronckle Iron."

Hiccup perked up in curiosity, "Say I was interested, what would I do?"

"Follow me."

Viggo turned on his heals and entered the captains cabin without looking back. Hesitantly Hiccup dismounted Toothless. "Keep an eye on all of them bud, if one of them moves, shoot them." The dragon grunted in response.

Hiccup slowly followed Vigo into the cabin. They were the only two in the room. It was richly furnished, a few dragon heads and weapons adorned the walls and a single table had been set up in the center of the room. He recognized the board set up on top.

"They say there are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true, the other, is to refuse to believe what is. Maces and Talons." Viggo gestured to the board. "I began playing with my Grandfather when I was just a boy. I always insisted on being the honorable Viking Chief. I could never understand how he bested me time and time again. Ha ha. For years I assumed his skill transcended mine, I believed what wasn't true. But you see, in Maces and Talons, as in life, the line between good and evil is often unclear. Black and white can become grey so easily. What one soul considers evil, another might consider righteous. The honorable Chief that fails to see this is found to be the fool.

For instance, you could view me and my brother as evil. We find dragons, we catch them, we sell them and become rich. For one such as yourself, who lives in close affinity with them, such a thing would be horrid. However, you take the man whose wife and child have been taken away by them…" Hiccup glared at the man, but Viggo continued, "and all of a sudden, our actions are seen in another light. For a high price, we do what that man cannot and remove from the equation the very thing that split his family apart. The dragon that no one else can take care of and placing it at the mercy of the one it wronged."

Hiccup took a nervous glance towards the door.

"Relax Hiccup, I wasn't talking about your Night Fury. Though that creature would be worth quite the fortune, it wouldn't make proper business sense to go to war with you. My employer has much more business lined up for me than what one Night Fury could cover. I was merely talking about what got me into this business in the first place."

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Hiccup asked.

"Everything." Viggo answered, "Where do you draw the line? Where does the line become grey? I want to know your motivation. What drives the heir to Berk, who's mother was killed by a dragon, to reject his birthright and kinship to run off with a Night Fury and declare war? Power? To show off? For the fun? Revenge?" At the last prod, Hiccup stiffened. Viggo took notice and smirked. "The question is… What are you willing to do to get it? You've impressed me Hiccup. My employer might take some time to come around, but he will. Your smart Hiccup, I can see that. You'd be a valuable addition anywhere. I enjoy a battle of the wits, there is no greater pleasure of mine than to see an opponent fall under his own feet. I'd love to have the chance to play against you for real in this life, but in order to know what we'll be doing, I have to ask a question. Will we be divided against each other, or work as allies for our mutual benefit?"

Viggo gestured to the board. "Would you like to play a game?"

Hiccup walked up to the board and grabbed the Chief of the Marauders. He twirled the black piece in his hand. "Why not?"

Viggo smiled as he developed a strategy, "Fitting choice. Now why don't you tell me why you fight?"

Hiccup smiled as well as he developed his own. "I spent 15 years living with the Vikings, constantly abused and looked down upon because of my weak stature. I don't know why I put up with it for so long. I guess I just needed Toothless to point me in the right direction. Now that I finally have the means to pay them back, the Vikings are going to discover just how strong I don't need to be." Hiccup replied with a smile as he moved a pawn out onto the board, leaving his hunters in reserve.

Satisfied, Viggo reached into his shirt and pulled out a parchment of paper, "The Gronckle Iron recipe." He explained as he held it out. Hiccup took it as Viggo made his first move. He was looking forward to this.

After three tense hours of the Night Fury staring down the unarmed crew of the dragon hunters, growling every time one of the men so much as flinched, the door to the captain's cabin finally opened. Hiccup walked out with a satisfied smirk on his face before turning back to the man who had followed him out. "That was fun Viggo, we'll have to do it again sometime."

Viggo, who had a shocked look of admiration on his face replied, "Likewise."

With that, Hiccup crossed the deck, mounted his dragon and took off into the sky.


	15. Chapter 15

**(A/N) So, its not mid January, but exams are over and it would appear that holidays are not going to be as chaotic as I expected. Also I love writing this and miss posting so I'm ending my Haitus early. I've also managed to start writing chapter 19 so I have a buffer again. Thats a little scary because last time I had a buffer, chapter 7 became chapter 14 and I had to rewrite it.**

 **That being said, I also rewrote chapter 1. PlaidOtaku pointed out early on that it was a little hard to follow along and I agreed, I just never got around to fixing it until now. All the events are the same, it just flows better now. I was actually watching the kill ring scene while writing it so it follows a little more closly to the movie where it should as well.**

 **Also, I'd like to mention that Nightshade Steel is not my own idea. I asked for permission to borrow this idea from IAmTheBrovahkiin. He used it in his story titled "The Boy Behind The Mask". It is an excellent story and I would encourage you check it out. The only problem is the writer has put it on hold for now.**

 **Guest Reviews:** **I know I sent a private message to those of you I could because of the Haitus, but I'm going to post my responses here as well.**

 **Brenne: I'm very exited to write the chapter with Spitlout and the Berkians going after Hiccup. Keep an eye on him, especially when Hiccup goes to take over Berk. Things should get interesting with him. As for Viggo, I can only hope I can make his character on paper as good as he actually is on screen. My fear right no is I wont let Viggo live up to his full potential. I guess we can only see where I bring this ;)**

 **italylikespasta12: I like alot of these names. If i don't use one of them, I may end up using a part of one of them. Thanks for your suggestions.**

 **PlaidOtaku: Search up "Viggo is working for Drago!" on youtube. This made me so happy when I saw this. I was pretty much running around yelling "IT WRITES ITSELF!"**

 **Supermage543: CdnChrgr- Starts laughing manically. It should be fun, thats for sure.**

 **Crystallion12: Thank you very much.**

 **Guest: Once again, you have my laughing my head off. As for Valka, I don't feel as if I'm spoiling anything to say yes she will. Even if she is one of the worst characters in the series, second only to Gustav. If you remove Valka from the movie, it doesn't actually change it. She's only there for exposition.**

 **MAD Marty: You already received my response, and I don't really want to reveal that information to everybody yet, so I'm not going to post my response here. Sorry.**

 **I want to thank you all for reviewing and your suggestions, I love hearing from you guys so keep it up! Have fun reading :)**

 **Chapter 15**

Hiccup waved the super light tube around in his hand with joy on the way to his forge with Toothless following loyally behind him. When he had first started to bend and shape the new Gronkle Iron alloy, he didn't have a plan of action. He just started to hammer and shape until the tube had made an appearance. He had been playing around with it for a few hours now and wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

He'd been able to swing the metal pipe around with ease and had used it in some sparring matches with dragons. After a little bit of that he had decided to test it on Eid.

He had found his trainer walking around the village. Eid encouraged his students to attempt ambushes on him, to both help them with their stealth and him with his reflexes. So Hiccup, as much as he felt no remorse for his teacher, had no hesitation when he jumped out of the shadows with the pipe swinging down at his teacher. However, after catching a flash of light from the sun's reflection, Eid expertly whipped his sword up and skillfully parried his opponent's weapon away. After a loud resounding clang, Eid stepped back, as did his student.

After appraising the situation, Eid commented, "Very good, I didn't see you until the last second. You were silent and used your surroundings to your advantage, but you failed to notice the smallest detail. In a fight, that can mean the difference between life and death. You failed to take in the gleam of the sun when you struck. The flash of light alerted me to your presence and the element of surprise was lost." He finished as he attempted to re-sheath his sword, only to find it no longer fit.

He looked down at his weapon, to find that it had been terribly bent out of shape. He glanced over to Hiccup's gleaming pipe to find it hadn't even suffered a scratch and frowned. "You have chosen your weapon quite well I'll admit." He said as he pointed to Hiccup's pipe before tossing the improving warrior his sword. Hiccup caught it with ease. "I expect it to be good as new by tomorrow." He continued before turning his back and walking away without a second look.

Hiccup watched his teacher's retreating form with a scowl before turning his attention to the sword. As he took in the weapon's bent shape his scowl turned into a goofy grin. 'interesting' he thought.

Now, as he entered the forge and lit the area up, he was thinking about all the endless possibilities of things he could create or improve with this new alloy. The weapons, the inventions, the amount of metal he could save. He was going to have some fun.

He had a rare feeling of giddiness pass over him as he threw the pipe in the cold forge. He was about to grab some flint and steal to light the coals when his gaze passed over his friend. "Hey Toothless?" He called, "You mind lighting the forge for me?"

The dragon turned to the open forge and shot a small plasma blast into the opening. The blast expanded on contact with the coals and a purple flame shot into life. The flame shot through the pipe and redirected itself out the end, over Hiccup's shoulder and embedded itself into the roof. The second small explosion ripped through the thin planks of wood and blew a small hole in the roof.

Down in the village, everything was going well for Alvin the Treacherous, until a small explosion ripped through the evening air. He turned his gaze up towards the Dragon's Volcano and was just in time to see the purple blast rip through Hiccup's roof. As the blast settled it was replaced by a few lingering purple flames.

Alvin chuckled to himself, "Hah, maybe tha lad will learn somthin if he blows 'is own forge up instead a ours." He turned his gaze to the sky. Clouds had started gathering long ago and were threatening to open up at any second. "Then again, he may freeze ta death instead."

Back inside the forge, a shocked Hiccup starred at the burning hole in the ceiling, before bringing his gaze back towards the pipe. "Well then…" He started as his gaze travelled past the forge to the Night Fury standing right next to him, he noticed that the dragon was starring at the ceiling as well. "Good thing it's not winter." The dragon turned to him and rolled his eyes. Hiccup could almost here the dragon saying 'Funny' in his mind.

Their attention was caught once again by the crackling of the fire that was starting to consume the roof. Hiccup broke into a run as he called over his shoulder, "You stay here and watch the forge! Make sure we don't have another fire to fight. I'll go round up a Scauldron." The dragon huffed his reply and turned his attention the forge that was still glowing purple.

10 minutes later, the fire was out. Hiccup gratefully patted the Scauldron on the nose and gave it a fish as a reward. Turning his attention from the hole in his roof, Hiccup glanced over at the forge. He noticed that the coals were just beginning to lose their purple hue and settle into their more natural, blood orange colouring. More importantly, the Gronkle Iron was red hot, with a strange tinge of blueish-purple.

Grabbing the tongs, Hiccup quickly lifted the pipe out of the forge and began to hammer it into the shape of his claw. Sure the old one had done wonders and even thrown Eid for a loop when he had first started to train with it, but he couldn't help but wonder what damage a Gronkle Iron claw could do. After a few minutes of banging away the metal had lost the proper glow, so he turned back to the forge, only to find that it had started to rain while his back was turned and the water pouring in through the newly made sunlight had put out the fire. Sighing he brought the glowing metal over to a bucket of water and dunked it in, a satisfying hiss coming forth.

He withdrew the metal and was surprised to find it was not in the same state it had been in before. In the place of a bright silver pipe was a slightly bent, glossy black replacement. The metal seemed to suck in all the light it could and destroy it in a shade as dark as the night.

Though the metal was still hot to the touch, Hiccup grabbed it and held it up. "What the…" He muttered to himself. He turned to Toothless, still trying to comprehend what had happened. He noticed that the new metal was almost the same colour as his friend. He recalled the purple flame in the forge after the dragon had lit it up and the odd, blueish-purple tinge the Gronkle Iron had when he pulled it from the flames.

"Toothless…" He muttered, "Your plasma blast made this new…" He tried to come up with a word to describe it, "Nightshade Steel." It was the only word he could come up with at the time, but it seemed to fit.

The dragon looked at him with curiosity, not entirely understanding his rider's wonder at the piece of metal in his hands. 'You see one piece of steel, you've seen them all.' in his opinion.

"ya-ya." Hiccup brushed off. "You don't care, I know."

However, Hiccup continued to stare in fascination at the metal in his hands, a smile starting to work its way onto his face. "In the morning, after this rain clears up, you and I have some work to do bud." He said without looking up.

o~0~O~0~o

Spitelout paced the deck out of boredom as the sun set over his ship. For two long weeks he had been trapped aboard the lead vessel of their convoy on the way to the Meathead Tribe and another week and a half on the way back. As he had suggested, they were retrieving a group of traders and escorting them back to Berk. There were six escort ships and two traders under his command. Every single one of them were loaded to the brim with Vikings and the two lead ships even had small portable catapults on board. In his opinion, it was a little overkill, considering they were only escorting two ships. Plus, it was Hiccup of all people they were defending them from.

Shaking his head at the thought, Spitelout turned to his second in command on this voyage, Phlegma the Fierce. "Four weeks and still, not one sighting of the lad." He muttered to her.

"I know what ya mean." She replied, "The boys're startin ta get a little bored."

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting much to begin with." He stated. "The lads a coward. Always has been and always will. Never stood up for himself and never amounted ta anything. Why we ever let Stoick keep him as the heir is beyond me."

"Ya got that right."

"The very idea that the lad could be a Viking. He'd have been better off as a toothpick to a Monstrous Nightmare or something like that."

Phlegma laughed.

"I mean, have you seen the size of his arms? The boy got everything he deserved, and if he decides to show his face during this voyage, we'll make sure the traitor gets his just punishment."

Phlegma raised an eyebrow at this, "Ya know Stoick wants him alive, right?"

"My brother said 'If at all possible.' All we have to do is make sure it isn't possible, am I right?"

"Yer talkin about subordination there."

"As long as nobody says anything, how will Stoick know? It'll save tha whole tribe tha trouble of an execution later on and ruin any chance of tha lad escapin."

Phlegma smirked, "Well if ya put it that way."

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup circled the convoy from up above like a wolf circling a pack of boars. He was waiting for the right time to strike. He took stock of the dragons circling with him. He smirked at the fact that none of the Vikings on the ships below knew anything about the impending attack.

'Serves them right for delaying my plans.' He thought as he looked back down. He was supposed to be in another fight right now, but the Vikings below had to be dealt with first. He had a lesson to teach them after all.

o~0~O~0~o

The night was pitch black as Spitelout cranked open a barrel of mead and filled two mugs. He turned and held one of them out the Phlegma, who gladly took it in hand.

Spitlout spoke up, "Just think, tomorrow we'll be back in Berk and Hiccup will be proven the coward that he-"

A shrill shriek filled the night sky around them. A near by Viking yelled out "NIGHT FURY!" "GET DOWN!" another one followed. Spitelout watched as his men scattered to find cover. The ship right behind them, the only other ship with a catapult, blew up in a huge explosion that almost swept him off his feet. Most of them men on the exploding ship were killed instantly. The screams of the few men who were thrown clear were quickly cut off as the water below the ship seemed to come alive with the wrath of Thor. Electric charges raced across the water and killed any who were exposed. 'Sea Shockers.' Spitelout thought to himself.

No sooner had the thought left his mind then a second shriek filled the air. A second ship exploded behind him as wings began to fill the air. This time, a few Scauldrons raised their heads out of the water to finish off the remaining Vikings as a Monstrous Nightmare lit a third ship on fire.

More and more dragons filled the night sky as Spitelout yelled out to his panicked men, "GET THIS SHIP TURNED AROUND AND GET THAT CATAPULT IN ACTION!" No sooner had the words left his mouth when a Nadder flew by and let out blast of flame that destroyed it. Spitlout let out a grumble of frustration and turned to the men, "Get those bolas ready and down as many as ya can!" He pointed at a small group of men, "You three get that fire under control."

Spitelout turned back to the fleet to find that every single ship was now burning and only one other ship had managed to remain afloat. Another shriek filled the air and it too disappeared in flash of purple. For the first time since Hiccup had left Berk, Spitelout allowed fear to wash over him.

After a few seconds of indecision, he turned to Phlegma. She was staring at a man who had a knife stuck in his gut. The man seemed to be frozen in place, but still alive. Spitelout's eyes rose in understanding. He turned to the deck to see his men bloodied and beaten. A few had Nadder spines stuck right through their guts, others were burned and still others had claw marks across their throats. One man even had his head severed from his body. It was just him and Phlegma left against an army of dragons and a merciless leader.

His eyes continued to probe the darkness. Finally they found his target. Leaning up against the burning catapult as if he didn't have a care in the world stood Hiccup with his Night Fury right behind him. The boy was dressed entirely in black, gripped a rusted sword in his left hand and had a gauntlet, black as night attached to his right arm.

The "gauntlet," if you could call it that was actually his latest invention. Using the Nightshade Steel, he had recreated his claw with a few upgrades. When he wasn't using it, the claw would be positioned out of the way along the side of his arm. At the click of a button on the side of the grip, the claw would rotate out and become a deadly weapon. The wrist brace had been turned into a solid slab of metal that would protect his arm during a fight and from the claws when the were retracted.

"YOU!" a voice next to Spitelout called out. He turned to see Phlegma radiating pure hatred toward the boy, "YOU DID THIS! YOU BROUGHT ALL THIS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION TO US! I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" Hiccup just shrugged. With a Viking roar she ran forward, axe raised high, ready to cut the boy in front of her in half with a single blow.

At the last second, Hiccup flashed into action. He sidestepped Phlegma's swing, the axe sliced though the air and embedded itself in the wood of the catapult. Without hesitation, Hiccup swung his sword down on the Viking's arm and severed it from her body. Shocked, Phlegma stepped back and clutched at her stump as her arm fell limp to the ground. Her eyes radiated pure hatred and fear as Hiccup stepped closer, rotated his claw into attack position, plunged it into her chest and twisted it without remorse. Metal pierced through several layers of body armour and tore though vital organs. As he stepped back, Phlegma coughed up blood and slowly sank to the deck, never to stand back up again.

With the deed done, he turned to Spitelout, who stood frozen with shock. "Well… Hello dear Uncle."

"How…" Spitelout forced himself to reply as he looked around at his dead men and the destruction. There were still a few wrecks, burning around him, slowly sinking beneath the waves, though the only dragon still visible was the Night Fury at Hiccup's back. His own ship continued to burn as the two stood, staring at each other.

"Oh, you know, 15 years worth of revenge to carry out and the means to fulfill it will change a person." Hiccup replied. "I finally have the taste of blood on my sword, and I taste a hint of that revenge. You know what? I like it. I don't think I'll be stopping anytime soon." He smirked.

Spitelout paused at this comment, he couldn't let Hiccup continue. He had to stop the youth, even if it meant he'd die in the process. Following in the steps of the fallen Phlegma, Spitelout raised his sword and bellowed out a Viking roar.

He brought his sword down on Hiccup, but instead of stepping out of the way like Spitelout expected, Hiccup's claw met his weapon. At the first contact that the two weapons made, Spitelout's sword was cut to pieces. Two sections of his blade clattered to the ground, leaving him holding just the hilt. Spitelout gaped at his broken weapon as Hiccup quipped, "Pretty _useless_ now, eh?"

Spitelout looked up in time to see the claw making its way towards him. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was his blood hitting the deck below him.


	16. Chapter 16

**(A/N) Well here I am once again. And guess what? WE HIT 100 FOLLOWERS! THANK YOU EVERYONE! Thank you for taking the time to read and review, it makes writing this so much fun!**

 **Other than that, hope you all had a merry Snoggletog and have a happy New Year.**

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 **Windrider340: Ya, Hiccup is a little OC in this story, maybe I should add that to the summary. I have a plan for what I'm doing, it is just going to take a while for you all to see it. But I'm glad your enjoying it and don't worry, I don't think your mean.**

 **Have fun reading:)**

 **Chapter16**

"Well, you ready bud?" Hiccup asked his partner in crime. Toothless warbled nervously in response. 'Nope.'

Hidden against the back drop of the starless night, the two were flying high above the one island the Vikings had been searching for, for over 300 years. The home of the Red Death, otherwise know as the Nest. About a mile below them, orange hued steam billowed out from the mouth of the volcano. If Hiccup strained his eyes, he could just make out a giant shadow.

"Come on, what do we have to be afraid of? Nothing but a 300-foot behemoth. We'll be able to fly circles around her. Don't worry. Besides, the fuse is already lit. We have like 20 seconds before we absolutely have to go." Toothless grunted his understanding and prepared for the up-coming battle. The two had spent well over a year planning this out. They weren't going to let all of their prep go to waste.

"Lets do this!" Hiccup cried out and closed the tail fin as Toothless simultaneously folded his wings into a dive.

Never before had the two plummeted with such intensity. Toothless primed the plasma charge in his mouth, the familiar Night Fury shriek filled the air around them. Down below, the Red Death heard them and raised its head towards the source and Hiccup spotted the sinister grin of the beast come into view.

The two continued to build up speed and momentum. With less than 250 feet between them and the mouth of the volcano, a loud bang was heard before their world elapsed into silence. Not even the sound of the freezing wind rushing past them could be heard.

As they entered the mouth of the volcano Toothless let his blast go. He quickly opened his wings as the bolt of plasma hit into the Queen with enough force to send her reeling. A moment later, sound waves caught up with them and slammed into her, stunning her further. A deep, pained roar filled the air as Hiccup and Toothless entered one of the Tunnels they had spent months exploring. Panicked dragons took off and raced out of the Volcano as the pair streaked by them. Hiccup and Toothless were forced to make minuet changes to avoid rocks and dragons, relying solely on Toothless' echolocation to make it out alive.

After 30 seconds of ducking and diving between rock crags and dragons at un-heard of speeds, the two sped out into the open air. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder to see hoards of dragons race out after them, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and their angry Queen. 'Good.' Hiccup thought as the pair began to rise into the sky.

In the heart of the volcano, the Queen finally recovered from the blast. She felt her lip where the blast had hit her and tasted blood. Madder than a Monstrous Nightmare woken up from a nap, the Red Death began to exit the Nest for the first time since she became the Queen. She put a claw on a rock cleft and was just about to climb out when an explosion of rocks hit the side of her face. In rapid sequence, more and more explosions rocked the sides of the cave and began to burry her alive.

Up above, Hiccup watched as the hundreds of canisters of Zippleback gas he had placed inside the volcano began to go off. The mountain seemed to collapse in on itself as it belched fire from the hundreds of cracks that began to appear on its surface. In less than a minute, all that was left of the Nest was a pile of rubble and a quickly expanding cloud of dust.

The two flew around the debris for a few minutes, nothing moved. "That was surprisingly… easy." Hiccup commented. The dragon below him grunted a warning, 'this isn't over, not yet. Not by a long shot.'

The rubble near the center began to shift. After a little bit of a struggle, a giant head appeared out of the debris. More of the volcano began to shift as more and more of the enraged dragon came into view. After about five minutes of struggling, the Red Death, though a little bruised and missing teeth and scales, stood in full view and took off awkwardly into the night. It was obvious from their vantage point that the mountain had done its job. The wings of the behemoth had been damaged and bruised, years of un-use hadn't helped them. There were even a few holes in the membranes.

"Now we have a battle worth fighting!" Hiccup cheered to his friend. With adrenalin pumping through his veins and spurring him on, Toothless roared in agreement.

o~0~O~0~o

At the entrance to Helheim's gate, a lone Viking long boat was anchored. The ship was manned by a skeleton crew and a pyre had been built on deck above a large metal dish. The night was peaceful, but not for long.

The crew was spurred into an action as the far-off sound of a Night Fury's shriek pierced the air just before the distant sound of a large explosion was heard. The men looked at each other in confusion, then terror as the largest hoard of dragons they had ever seen exited the fog bank and raced by them. One man grabbed a near-by torch and tossed it into the pyre. It became a blazing inferno in seconds. With their job complete, the men looked to each other, all thinking the same thing. 'Thor help those back on Berk.' As a second, larger explosion ripped through the night air.

The shockwave was enormous. Dust flew through the air and the fog bank hiding Helheim's gate was blown away in a matter of seconds. For the first time since Vikings settled the archipelago, the remains of the Nest was visible for all present to see. Unknowingly, the Vikings on the ship were to have front row seats to the battle that was unfolding.

Whether or not because of bravery or stupidity, or maybe it was the fact that for the first time ever they could see their target, the Vikings decided to bring their ship in closer.

On the horizon, another ship spotted the blaze on the first ship and lit their own pyre. Fishlegs' early warning system raced from ship to ship and from horizon to horizon. It wasn't long before a guard on Berk's watch tower spotted the signal and sounded the alarm. Vikings scrambled out of bed and began to prepare the village for battle.

o~0~O~0~o

The dragon and his rider dove out of the sky towards the large behemoth barely staying in the air below them. A purple streak shot forth and hit the Red Death square in the right nostril. Pain radiated within the beast as blood spewed from it's nose. Fishlegs had said that the Queen relied on hearing and smell, but now its own blood was overriding the sense of smell. The Queen's hearing and size were its only strengths now, and those could be used against her.

The pair rose into the air again. After gaining some altitude, they quickly turned and dived towards the monster. The next blast hit the back of her neck and she once again roared in pain. Again and again the two aimed plasma blast after plasma blast at her head. This wasn't just about killing her; it was about beating her into submission.

"Ok bud, you've been doing all the work. Now it's my turn to inflict some damage." Toothless warbled with glee. He was starting to have fun with this. With them disappearing into the inky blackness, only to unleash purple streaks of fire at her, she was powerless to stop them.

The two dove down once again. Hiccup got in real close. With the claw in his hand he reached out and sliced through the middle eye on her left side. Even if they didn't survive this battle, the Queen would never be able to use the eye again.

The Red Death roared in pain once again. She was angry and fed up with just taking hit after hit from the annoying pair. She took in a deep breath and unleashed her pillar of fire in every direction. Up, down, to the left, right and underneath her once again. Night became day as Hiccup and Toothless once again dove towards their prey.

With the very air around them on fire, it wasn't hard to pick out the dot of black coming towards the Queen. She wouldn't be able to react in time to catch them with her flame, but she wasn't going to just let the pair attack without taking some hits themselves. She accepted the blow that came at her with patience, but followed the black dot as it passed over her and across her back. As the pair neared her clubbed tail she swung it with every ounce of power she had.

o~0~O~0~o

The ship full of Vikings below watched in awe as the purple streaks lit up the night sky. The flashes of the exploding plasma briefly giving glimpses of the Red Death against the Night Sky. Hit after hit she would take, giving a pained roar each time.

The Night Fury shriek that had for so long driven every Viking into hiding now captivated the men as they tried to explain what was going on. The only Night Fury they knew of was the one that Hiccup rode on and for the life of them, they had no clue as to why he would attack the Nest. He was supposed to have sided with the dragons, to fight with them. Why he would destroy the very thing that was causing the war was beyond them.

The Queen gave another roar of pain, but this time no purple blast accompanied it. Then the whole sky seemed to be consumed with fire, and for the first time, the Vikings saw the beast in its entirety. Screams of fear and panic filled the ship as someone shouted to turn the boat around. If Hiccup failed, they would have no chance against the Queen.

Through the flames someone spotted the silhouette of the dragon and his rider and brought it to the attention of his fellow shipmates. They followed the silhouette, silently encouraging it to defeat the beast as it sent another blast at the Queen's head. They followed it as it passed over the back of the queen and neared the tail, only to gasp in shock as the two were hit by the club and sent careening towards the earth.

o~0~O~0~o

As Hiccup raced over the Red Deaths back he realized this wasn't working. The Queen was just absorbing the shots like they were bee stings. Toothless would be long out of fire before she gave up. They had to initiate the back-up plan he realized. They weren't going to be able to beat her into submission, they were going to have to kill her. To have the best chance of that they would need her to follow them.

He was just about to light up a piece of cloth he had brought with him just in case, when he noticed the tail making its way towards him.

"No, no, no no…" He cried out as the club made contact. It hit their left side with force and ripped him out of the saddle. His left leg was radiating with pain as he fell towards the earth. As he fell, he looked up to see his friend desperately trying to catch up to him. Then he looked down towards the broken, unforgiving earth, he doubted they had enough altitude to reconnect in time.


	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N) So as promised, I didn't make you all wait too long. Welcome to the second part of the fight with the Red Death. Hope you all enjoy.**

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 **Chapter 17**

Hiccup was falling towards the unforgiving ground below. His leg felt like it was on fire, but he knew that would be nothing compared to what was coming.

The collision with the Red Death's tail had separated dragon and rider. Toothless was doing his best to catch up with Hiccup, but as each second passed, the ground just got closer and closer. He knew they were going to end up hitting it, but only one of them was designed to take such a blow.

With every ounce of his body straining itself in determination, Toothless managed to catch up with his rider mere feet off the ground. Straining his head, his jaws managed to snap shut on Hiccup's leg and he tasted blood.

He swung Hiccup up into his embrace and twisted his body. His wings slammed into the ground. He felt an audible snap and roared in pain as his wing broke from the impact.

Up in the sky, the Red Death was trying to catch a glimpse of where the rider and his dragon had fallen.

Panting heavily and ignoring his own pain, Toothless turned his attention towards Hiccup. His rider was conscious, but writhing in pain. His eyes travelled over Hiccup's body, looking for the source. He stopped when his gaze passed over his left leg. The cloth and dragon skin clothing had been torn away revealing his injuries. The leg appeared to be shapeless mush, the initial collision with the clubbed tail crushing the bones into sawdust. Half of his foot was missing from when it had been torn from the saddle. Near the knee, tooth marks from when Toothless had grabbed him out of the air were bleeding profusely.

In an effort to help slow the bleeding and ward off infection, Toothless began to lick the wounds. Hiccup cried out in pain as the tongue did its work, but Toothless ignored him. Sometimes things have to become worse before they would get better.

After about five minutes of searching in the darkness, the Red Death became fed up and unleashed another stream of fire into the air. Night once again became day as she searched for her prey.

The Vikings on the fleeing long boat cowered in fear as the Queen showed herself again. She was no longer flying, but they were desperate to put as much distance between them and her while her attention was else where. Who knew what would happen after she was finished with Hiccup and turned her attention to the destroyed Nest.

As the flames enveloped the sky, Toothless turned his attention from his rider. He knew it would only be a matter of time before she found the two and turned them into barbeque. A wave of protectiveness towards his rider overpowered the dragon. There was only one thing he could think of to protect him.

Gently, he nudged Hiccup off of him and stood up. He nearly cried out in pain from his broken wing, but stood tall. With protective fury, the black dragon let out a blood curdling roar into the night. The Queen ceased her searching and turned towards the pair. When she caught sight of her quarry, her eyes narrowed in anger.

Toothless let the protective rage swell over him. The spines along his back and his head began to glow blue as he charged a powerful blast, much hotter than his regular fire. Blue smoke billowed from his nostrils and rose into the Night Sky. The Red Death rose up and roared into the Night Fury's face, attempting to become as intimidating as possible. Toothless ignored her and let out his own roar in answer.

Toothless got ready to fire, but hesitated when he felt Hiccup's hand touch his side. Though weakened from his injuries, Hiccup cautioned, "Not yet bud."

Toothless trusted his rider and held back his shot, though he continued to let it build.

The Red Death found she had enough of the insolent pair below her. She reared up and let the gas build up in her throat, ready to blast the two into oblivion. When she reached the apex of her rise Hiccup yelled out, "NOW!"

Toothless let lose the blast that tore through the night in perfect aim towards its target.

The Vikings still trying to get away from the fight watched on in awe as the Queen's mouth exploded in a bright orange light, the back of her head accented by a giant purple explosion. Her neck snapped back as the explosion ripped through her skull and gut, causing serious internal damage.

The force of the explosion threw the Queen onto her back. Her enormous bulk causing an earthquake that rocked the ship as she hit the ground.

As the dust settled, Hiccup cautiously struggled to stand up while using his friend as a crutch. He stared on in awe at the sight that befell his eyes. Burning pieces of the Red Death fell around him, lighting up the area. The Queen herself lay unmoving on the ground. Her stomach was bloated and it was obvious that more than a few ribs had been shattered. Blood poured from her mouth and her open eyes had a dull sheen to them.

Beside him, Toothless roared out in victory.

The men in the long boat attempted to flee with even more determination than ever as they heard the victory roar of the Night Fury. They had no interest in facing the dragon that had killed the behemoth.

o~0~O~0~o

Stoick stood at the ready as the moon came out from behind the clouds, only to reveal the largest hoard of dragons he had ever seen. There must have been thousands that were quickly making their way towards their island.

"Odin help us." He prayed. He wouldn't say anything to his men, but he wasn't quite sure there would be a Berk left come morning. Even still, he would protect this island to his dying breath. It was all he had left now.

"Get those catapults ready!" He yelled out as the dragons got closer and closer. Then, as one, the dragons halted in the skies and turned back to wherever they had come from.

"What the…" he whispered to himself. 'Why didn't they come and wipe them off the face of the earth like they should have? Where are they going? What could control them like… that?' He wondered.

"Hiccup." He muttered. "What have you done?"

o~0~O~0~o

Using his friend as a crutch, Hiccup stood in awe as hoards of dragons descended around them. As each of the dragons landed, they bowed their heads in allegiance to the new Alphas of the Nest. Toothless stood proud with Hiccup by his side. They were one and the dragons would follow these two to their dying breath.

o~0~O~0~o

Astrid groaned in annoyance as the Twins once again started a fight amongst themselves. This time it had been about who had done the most damage to the Deadly Nader they had come across today.

It had been four months since she and the other teens had left Berk in search of Hiccup and she didn't know how much more she could put up with. Fishlegs she didn't mind. He mostly just stuck to himself reading the books he had brought along. Snotlout and the twins however… That was a different story.

Snotlout was his usual arrogant self, constantly flirting with her and attacking every dragon in sight… sort of. What he would usually do was send the twins in to inflict serious damage before he would run in and finish the dragon off. Then he would claim all the glory for himself, boasting that he was the best dragon killer there was.

Astrid couldn't help but wonder how much easier it would be to train a dragon if Snotlout wasn't there killing them all.

Now, as they sat around a camp fire on the beach under the stars on another one of the many islands they had come across, Snotlout was his usual self.

"Hey babe." He greeted out as he sat down beside her.

"Don't call me babe. The day I'm your babe, Helheim's gate will be blown away."

"Whatever, did you like the way I fought today? I killed that dragon just for you." He winked.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Ya, you were so brave, killing a dragon the twins fought so hard to bring down."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes, "What, you think dragon fighting is easy? They're blood thirsty beasts with the strength of 10 men. Yet you want me to bring down a dragon all by myself? Is that what it will take to please you? Fine! I'll go find one right now and kill it. All by myself!"

With that said, Snotlout got up, grabbed his hammer and trudged off into the night. Rolling her eyes once again, Astrid turned her attention to the other teens in her group, for about half a second.

Behind her an explosion of sand popped out from the earth as Snotlout screamed in surprise and pain, then terror. Instantly every one of the teens stood up to see a dragon had Snotlout in it's maw and was beginning to dig a hole nearby. Snotlout, who had dropped his hammer when he was ambushed, was flailing about, attempting to kick and punch at his attacker, who paid him no mind whatsoever.

Astrid took in the dragon's appearance. The dragon had the build of a Night Fury, powerful, bat like wings, small secondary wings further back, a narrow body, long tail, stood on four legs and had a pointed head. There, the similarities ended. The dragon was a tan colour with molted brown camouflage that made it look like its skin was made of sand. The back of its head was adorned with spikes and two dark brown stripes ran along its eyes and down the sides of its head. The leading edge of its wings were also covered in spikes. A particularly large spike stuck out from where the wing folded in on itself. The tail had a fin, but instead of the long flat one that the Night Fury had, this dragon had half a crescent followed by a spike on each side.

At first glance, this dragon looked powerful and Astrid let her hopes raise a little. With Snotlout incapacitated, this might be her chance to train a dragon.

The twins were just about to jump into action when Astrid held out her hand, surprisingly, they stopped.

"What?" Ruffnutt asked.

"Ya, what are you planning?" Tuffnutt followed.

"Something crazy." She answered, "Fishlegs?" She called out.

The burly boy took the que, "Sand Wraith. From what I can remember, its an ambush predator, and therefore very strong. It buries itself for weeks on end before pouncing on unsuspecting prey. Fires hardened sand pellets supported by a weak fire and has a shot limit of eight. After it has secured its prey, it prefers to burry its victim alive for later consumption. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

Astrid nodded and then pointed to the twins, "Go get my trunk from my sleeping quarters."

The twins nodded and took off as Astrid grabbed a near by fish.

"What are you doing?" Fishlegs asked.

"Like I said, something crazy." With that she turned and ran off towards Snotlout and the dragon.

When she arrived, the dragon had already dug a hole that was three feet deep. Snotlout was still screaming his head off. "Hey!" She called out.

The dragon turned and observed her as she held out the fish. It growled at her and she remembered something Hiccup had told her about how he had befriended Toothless. Slowly, she reached behind her head and grabbed onto her axe handle. The dragon set Snotlout down and stood on him so he could show Astrid his pointed teeth.

Astrid continued to slowly withdraw her axe and then threw it away. The dragon perked its head up in curiosity.

Astrid once again held out the fish and spoke softly, "Here, this fish for my acquaintance." Snotlout visibly cringed at this statement, Astrid ignored him. "On the count of three. One… Two… Three." She tossed the fish and the dragon caught it as it let Snotlout go. "There that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Astrid cautiously raised her hand to the dragon's snout. It growled at her again, then shuffled into a defensive stance as Astrid heard a war cry come from behind her. She turned to see Snotlout had retrieved his war hammer and was now charging at the dragon.

Astrid scowled, and as he ran by her, she punched him in the face. Snotlout went down like a ton of bricks and clutched his broken nose as the hammer landed harmlessly at the dragon's feet. The dragon stopped growling and cocked its head as Astrid started to yell at the fallen teen.

"That was for messing things up!" She kicked him in his side, "And that was for thinking you could earn my affections!" She was about to kick him again when she heard something that made her pause. She turned to find that the dragon was laughing at them. She smirked as she turned back to Snotlout.

"Stop crying like a baby and get up!" She commanded.

Snotlout got up and she gestured from the dragon to Snotlout with a smile. If a Sand Wraith knew how to smile, this one would have had the biggest grin on its face as he swatted his tail at the young man. It caught the back of the teen's knees and sent him to the ground once again as Astrid burst out laughing. The Sand Wraith, seeing this, then brought its tail down on Snotlout's face. He screamed in pain again as the tail made contact.

"What's she doing?" Tuffnutt asked as Fishlegs and the twins watched from afar.

"I don't know, maybe she snapped like Hiccup did." Ruffnutt replied. "Four months with your stupid face will do that to anyone."

"Hey!" Tuffnutt cried out as he punched his sister, a small fight breaking out.

"Actually… You might not be too far off." Fishlegs commented.

The twins paused the fight for a moment, Ruffnutt's hand pulling at Tuffnutt's nose as he piped up, "Wha?"

"Just think about it. What better way to find Hiccup, a dragon rider, then to ride a dragon yourself? I bet if you look in Astrid's trunk you'll find saddle making materials in the bottom…" Fishlegs trailed off as he noticed the twins had broken away and begun to tear through Astrid's things.

"I was right!" Tuffnutt cheered as he pulled out a saddle. Fishlegs rolled his eyes.

"There's two more in here!" Ruffnutt cried out.

"Astrid is going to kill you when she gets back." Fishlegs pointed out.

"Oh right, Astrid. Let's get back to watching her. I can't wait to see if she and Snotlout get eaten or not."

Snotlout cried out in pain as Astrid once again punched him, this time in the gut. It only rose an octave when the Sand Wraith's tail made contact in between his legs. Both dragon and the girl were laughing hysterically as the boy fell to the ground.

The boy got up to try and run away but was quickly brought down by Astrid. She and the dragon were having a lot of fun with this. The Sand Wraith picked up Snotlout's fallen hammer in its' jaws and brought it down on the boy's helmet, a resounding clang coming forth that dented the helmet and knocked the teen out. 'Hmm, it's smart' Astrid thought.

"You mind helping me dump this trash?" she asked the dragon. The Sand Wraith glanced over at her with pure joy in its' eyes. The girl smiled and grabbed Snotlout's arms while the dragon grabbed his feet. The boy only groaned as the two dragged him over to the shoreline.

Astrid began to swing him, "One…" Snotlout moaned. "Two…" It was at this moment that he came to enough to realize what was about to happen and started to struggle. "Three…" Astrid cried out as both dragon and girl released Snotlout's limbs. Snotlout flailed his arms in panic as he went sailing into the ocean.

The dragon crooned in joy as it sat back, Astrid following suit laughing. They watched in content silence as Snotlout struggled back to shore. He took one look at the pair and took off, limping back to camp. Astrid smiled to herself, Snotlout had that coming for a long time, before turning her head in the direction of the dragon. She noticed that it was starring at her.

She reached a tentative hand out to the dragon, who growled a little. She remembered something else Hiccup had told her and turned her head away, waiting for the dragon to make the decision. 'I trust you.' She thought in her head. A few agonizing seconds went by, Fishlegs and the twins waiting in anticipation of what would happen. Finally, Astrid felt scales press up against her palm.

She opened her eyes to find that the dragon had his snout pressed against her palm. She smiled with joy as she brought her free hand to the dragon's jaw and began to lightly scratch it.

The dragon crooned in contentment as Astrid whispered, "Thank you."

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup was dozing in and out of consciousness as the hoard of dragons followed the two Alphas. They were currently being carried by two Monstrous Nightmares in an half of an old long boat the Vikings had wrecked in one of their searches for the nest. Hiccup had remembered it from the time he sailed there while looking for the Boneknapper.

He had tended to their injuries as much as possible at the Nest. Hiccup's leg had been wrapped in the cloth of his shirt while Toothless' wing had been splinted with old bones they had found in the graveyard, which surprisingly hadn't been disturbed much in the battle. Both would be grounded for the next month or so at least, but the two were closer than ever.

The outline of Outcast Island became visible in the mourning glow. Hiccup smirked to himself as he imagined Alvin's face right now. When he had left to go fight, the Chief didn't believe that such a feat would be possible. He had even sharpened weapons, ready to fight the dragons that were already living there for when Hiccup inevitably didn't return home.

"This should be fun." Hiccup grunted to Toothless as his world once again went black.

Alvin was indeed shocked to see the thousands of dragons descend onto his shores as the long boat came to rest. He was pleased to see that none of them made their way into the village, all except for one that is.

Toothless hopped down from the long boat, a figure hanging limp from his mouth and made his way to the Chief. Alvin, though still not comfortable with dragons, had gotten used to the Night Fury as every time he had been forced to talk with the lad, Toothless had been present.

As such, he didn't shrink back like his men did when the dragon dropped his rider at Alvin's feet. Toothless liked Alvin about as much as Alvin liked him, but he did trust the man's greed. As long as Hiccup proved useful, Alvin wouldn't kill him.

Alvin scowled down at the limp form at his feet and muttered to himself, "Didn't expect tha boy ta survive." He turned to look at Savage. "Get im to a healer." He commanded.

Savage nervously walked forward and scooped up the comatose boy and hurriedly made his way to the healers, the Night Fury following loyally behind. As they neared the hut Hiccup woke up again. "Easy there lad." Savage nervously calmed the boy. "We need ta get ya to the healer." Hiccup nodded and relaxed.

Once there, Savage set the boy on the healer's table as the dragon waited outside. The healer, an old man named Dyri, took a look at the leg. Hiccup winced in pain as the man poked in prodded at the leg, checking out the extent of the damage.

"Savage, get yer axe ready." Dyri commanded.

Savage nodded and brought his axe to bear, which made Hiccup flinch at the sight.

"I'm sorry lad." Dyri spoke as he tied a tourniquet just below Hiccup's knee, "Your injuries are too extensive. The flesh is already starting to turn black and the bone is damaged beyond repair. It's dead. If I leave it, it will fall off naturally, but will likely cause infection and blood poisoning. We need to take it."

Hiccup briefly nodded as Dyri grabbed a piece of charcoal and drew a line across Hiccup's shin. "Make it quick." he told Savage, who merely nodded. Outcast Island, being volcanic, didn't have much in the way of herbs, so putting him out was out of the question. This was going to hurt.

Swish, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With one solid swing of his axe. Savage had easily cut through flesh and bone, severing Hiccup's leg from the rest of his body directly on the line Dyri had drawn.

Toothless, enraged by his rider's scream, forced his way into the small hut and was about to start blasting people when Hiccup's hand shot forth. "NO!" He forced himself to yell through gritted teeth, even while his leg was in the worst pain he had ever felt.

Toothless paused and stared questioningly it him.

"It has to happen bud, trust him." Hiccup managed to get out.

The Night Fury let out a sad croon to show his support.

"I know bud. It will be ok. Besides, we'll match afterwards." Hiccup half heartedly laughed.

Turning his attention to the healer, he nodded to continue.

Nervously, Dyri returned to the task at hand, trying to keep his patient from heading off to Valhalla.

o~0~O~0~o

It was around noon when the four ships pulled into port. They were greeted by Stoick the Vast himself, and he was not pleased.

"You lot were supposed ta be out there fer another week! Why're ye all back so soon?" He yelled out to the lead ship.

"Ask Arnlaug. You'll get the best answer from him." The captain called out.

'Arnlaug?' Stoick thought as his eyebrows knitted together. He was the captain of the ship closest to Helheim's gate. Realization dawned on him, "Hiccup." He whispered to himself once again.

Stoick waited impatiently for the ships to tie up before grabbing Arnlaug as he tried to exit his ship.

"Alright, lets hear it."

Arnlaug nervously cleared his throat. "W-well, ya see, we were guardin the exit of tha Nest when we heard a Night Fury's shriek. We all dove fer cover, but the blast hit no were near us. Next thing ya know, dragons were everywhere, runnin from somethin', though at tha time we thought Berk would be in ruins tha next time we hit tha shore of home. It wasn't too lang after tha' when we heard a loud rumble and a strong gust a wind blew Helhiem's gate completely away."

Stoick's eyes widened a little, "Then what happened!" he demanded.

"It was in ruins. Somehow, 'iccup an his Night Fury destroyed it. But that wasn't tha end of it. Tha biggest dragon ya ever saw rose from tha ruins and started ta fight with tha runt." Arnlaug gulped as he saw Stoick's eyes narrow a little at the runt comment. It was well known that Stoick the Vast still had a soft spot for his son. Probably the only soft spot he had.

"Keep goin, but remember, yer treadin on thin ice."

"Y-yes Stoick. 'iccup an tha Queen fought for a little while before the Queen took 'im out." Stoick's eyes widened in concern as Arnlaug continued. "Then… Then…"

"Then WHAT!" Stoick all but roared.

"Then… he killed it. I don't know how, but he killed it. One minute he's fallin' from tha sky, the next the dragon's head was blown apart. It wasn't long after tha the dragons came back. We didn't stick around long enough ta see wha' else happened."

"Keep this to yerself." Stoick growled as he released his grip on the man and quickly turned to walk away. He wasn't aware that he was slowly making his way to the great hall as he took in this information.

For 300 years, Vikings had tried to find and destroy the Nest. Then, a year after they find out that it's impossible, his wayward son, the one everyone viewed as being weak, does just that. Stoick couldn't believe it, but then he realized, Astrid had said that the Queen controlled the dragons. If the Queen was dead, who controlled them now?

He silently sent up a prayer, "Odin help us."

She was still alive… barely. Her bloated stomach rose and fell with painful, laboured breaths, struggling against the internal damage that had occurred when her gas chamber had exploded. Blood dripped steadily from her open jaw. Threatening her survival even more would be the gigantic hole in the right side of her skull where three of her eyes had previously been. Her raw, exposed flesh continued to burn away. Even if she did survive, she would never fly or breath fire ever again.

But, they had won. She was down and she wouldn't be getting up. He and Toothless had faced off against a behemoth and come out on top!

The dragons themselves knew something had changed. They were flocking back by the hundreds, curiously looking over the fallen Queen and apprising the two beings who had toppled the monster. Then, recognizing the feat the two had accomplished together, pledged their loyalty to the new Alpha's of the nest. They would freely offer their lives for pair should the need arise.

An agonized groan escaped Hiccup's lips as the adrenalin coursing through his body during the battle began to wear off. His left leg felt like it was on fire and when he glanced down, he knew it wasn't good. Half of his foot was missing. Bits and pieces of it were still caught in the gears of Toothless' saddle. The rest of it wasn't any better. What hadn't been torn off had been crushed to powder from the ankle down.

There wouldn't be any saving it, he knew, but if he wanted to live, he needed to get the bleeding under control. Quick as he could, he tore a strip off his shirt and tied a tourniquet around his leg a few inches above the ankle, groaning in agony as he did so. Toothless tried licking the wound, but Hiccup waved him off.

"Were going to have to do something more drastic than that bud." Hiccup told the dragon who whined with worry.

He threw his sword on the ground and called over a Nadder. It didn't take much t convincer her to blast the sword with her flame. Hiccup had been reading the Book of Dragons, learning of each dragon's abilities and making updates where necessary. One thing he remembered reading, a Nadder's fire was the hottest of any dragon and the blast had left his sword glowing red hot.

"Toothless." Hiccup called through clenched teeth. The dragon immediately responded with a concerned warble. "I need you to do something for me, but you're not going to like it."

He was right. Toothless didn't like it, but a few minutes later and a lot of convincing on Hiccup's part, he had his Rider's leg firmly in his mouth. Already he could taste Hiccup's blood and he hated it. Hiccup balled a piece of his shirt up and bit down on it. Then, he nodded to the dragon.

Hiccup's body jerked as teeth tore through his flesh and he yelled out against the searing pain. Quick as he could, Toothless spit his foot out and began licking the wound thoroughly, making the boy scream in pain even more, but before the dragon's saliva could begin to stop the bleeding. Hiccup was on the move towards the still glowing sword.

With a deliberate motion, he brought the stump down on the red-hot metal. An agonized scream drowned out the hiss of steam as the torn flesh of his stump was seared closed. As soon as he removed his leg from the sword, Toothless was on him, pinning him to the ground and licking the stump. Most of the bleeding had stopped by that point, but Toothless wasn't going to take any chances that it would start up again. Soon there was a thick coating of saliva that would fight infection and keep it from opening up again.

It was a crude job. Only meant to keep him alive for the time being, but it would do. Dyri, the closest thing to a doctor the Outcasts had, would have to do the job properly once he got back to the island. He figured once the procedure had been completed he'd have about an inch or two left below the knee. A more skilled doctor might be able to turn that into six, but what was the difference really? He would be able to keep his knee at least.

Satisfied at least that he wasn't going to die anytime soon, Hiccup turned his attention back to the Queen. The blood pooling from her mouth had turned into a small stream that led to the ocean, but her chest still heaved with breath. She was still alive and with proper care, should make somewhat of a recovery. The only questions were, would she know her place and where was he going to hide her now?


	18. Chapter 18

**(A/N) So I'm back once again with another chapter. I want to thank you all once again for the overwhelming support I've gotten with this story. It makes it so fun to write this. That being said, I got my first two negative comments last chapter. They actually got my thinking alot and I hope that you hear me out Guest 1 and**

 **I'd like to point out that the thing with the dragon scales was not my own idea, I got it from a story called Hitchups by The Antic Repertee and I did ask for permission. It is an awesome story and actually the first fanfiction that I read. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to go check it out.**

 **Also, I'd just like to mention that next chapter I will be revealing the Sand Wraith's name. I've gotten several good suggestions, but this is your last chance if you want to give yours. Just post your suggestion in the comments.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Guest 1: Unfortunately, there's not a lot I can say. Hiccup is a great character, it's one of the reasons I love HTTYD so much. Actually, I can see many of Hiccup's traits in myself. I even looked a little like him when I was younger, just with shorter hair. As for this story, it was just a fun little idea that came in my head and so I wrote it down. If you don't like this genre, then I guess you'll just have to find another story to read. Rest assured, I have another idea for a story where Hiccup will once again be the hero. I just have to finish this one first.**

 **Guest 2: Thank you very much for the compliments. And that name had me laughing. Thank you for that.**

 **: I'm sorry you feel that way and I'm also sorry if I ruined this story for you. But in my defense, I actually had this all thought out and Astrid didn't just magically get the ability. To show you this I'll have to start with analyzing Hiccup taming Toothless.**

 **First of all, Hiccup started from scratch, and he managed to become friends with Toothless in 3 days, not several weks.**

 **Day One- Hiccup shoots down Toothless, frees Toothless and finds out from his dad that he starts dragon training in the morning when he gets home.**

 **Day Two- Hiccup is almost killed in dragon training, gets told "A dragon will always go for the kill" and wonders why Toothless didn't. He finds Toothless in the cove and the two don't kill each other.**

 **Day Three- Hiccup questions Gobber in the kill ring about Night Furys, is almost killed by a dragon and given the ultimatum by Astrid, "Our parents war is about to become our own, figure out which side your on" It is that day that Hiccup goes to the cove with a fish, and several hours later, bonds with Toothless over a shared interest, drawing.**

 **Now we look to Astrid. I set it up so that Hiccup told her how he trained Toothless during the romantic flight. Plus she had a front row seat when Hiccup attempted to training the Monstrous Nightmare in the kill ring. On top of that, Astrid also new it was possible to train a dragon where Hiccup didn't. When Hiccup knew what he was doing, he trained the dragons in the kill ring for the others in a matter of minutes. You could argue that the dragons had already been trained by Hiccup during training, but the Monstrous Nightmare wasn't.**

 **I also want to point to the fact that Hiccup tamed Toothless over a common interest, and he tamed Toothless himself where the others didn't. I like to think that this gave Hiccup a stronger connection with his dragons than the others. Sure the gang has a strong bond between rider and dragon, but Hiccup's and Toothless' is even stronger. I gave Astrid her own way to tame her dragon and as such, I want to say she has a similar bond. Also, I would like to point out that I'm not done with Astrid and her dragon bonding. I still have another scene up my sleeve to help their bond along further.**

 **I hope you take this rather long response into consideration.**

 **rpglady76: I like your suggestion, its interesting. I'll keep it in mind. And just you wait and see, Hiccup has some plans, that's for sure.**

 **Brenne: Exactly** ** _evil face*_**

 **PlaidOtaku: Thank you for the suggestion and the compliments.**

 **crazed ragdoll: Thank you and I'll keep that suggestion in mind.**

 **mc arno: Et j'ai hate de poster**

 **newke: Thank you for your suggestion.**

 **Sorry for such a long author's note, but I hope you all have fun reading.**

 **Chapter 18**

Stoick was not in a good mood as he travelled around the village while preforming his Chiefly duties. The convoy escorting the two traders was four days late. He had enough to worry about as it was with Hiccup destroying the Nest and all. He had defences to shore up, battle plans to make, all while attempting to keep everything under wraps. A village in panic was not something Stoick wanted to deal with. Not that organizing a rescue party was either.

He was just about to make his way up to the farms to settle a dispute about who owned which sheep when one of the lookouts ran up to him.

"Chief!"

The lookout hadn't sounded the alarm, so the village wasn't under attack, much to Stoick's relief.

"What do ye want?"

"We spotted a ship!"

Stoick narrowed his eyes, "Only one?"

"Yes sir. And it appears to have a heavy list to starboard."

"Go get Gothi and Gobber and bring them to the docks."

"Yes sir."

Turning from the lookout, Stoick made his way to the docks with a steady pace. The ship had gotten much closer by the time he arrived. It was indeed listing heavily to the side, but now Stoick could see several other details as well. The sail was shredded and torn, there was a big hole in the center of the deck and what appeared to be the remains of a burnt catapult in the center of it. Several of the shields had been knocked off and the railing had been shattered in several places. The ship appeared to be sailing by itself, after all, no sane captain in charge of a still floating ship would aim his ship for the beach.

Stoick called out to a nearby Viking, "Direct Gobber and Gothi to the beach when they get here."

"Aye Chief."

"Gather some men and prepare to help with that ship as well."

The Viking nodded and turned to follow orders. Seeing that everything was so far in control, Stoick made his way to the beach to await the ship's arrival.

When it finally ground to a halt, a small crowd had gathered, they were curious about what had happened. Stoick was the first to board, followed by Gobber and Gothi. Nobody else would follow until after the Chief was satisfied.

Stoick nearly vomited as he stepped onto the deck. Being a warrior, he was used to the sight of dead bodies, but by the smell of things, these guys had been dead for a while. Some of the bodies had Nadder spikes embedded in them, others had been torn apart with claws. Over near the hole in the deck lay a body missing an arm and charred beyond recognition.

"I guess ya wont be needin tha be healers then?" Gobber pointed out in grim humor.

Stoick gave a sideways glance towards the blacksmith.

"I told Spitelout tha I pitied tha fool te mess with 'iccup."

Stoick was about to reply when the insistent tapping of Gothi's staff caught their attention. The two turned to see a figure tied to the mast, his head hung low. The Chief ran up and lifted the head to reveal the face of non other than Spitelout Jorgensen.

"Speak of tha devil." Gobber said.

Spitelout was unconscious and gravely wounded on top of being severely dehydrated. Three claw marks started in the middle of his forehead and travelled down across the bridge of his nose, across his left cheek and down to his shoulder. His left eye had been destroyed by the middle claw. All that remained was a white mush. Tied to his helmet was a note.

Stoick ripped the note off before cutting the ropes that tied Spitelout to the mast. He handed his brother's limp form to the blacksmith. "Here, take him ta Gothi's hut."

"Aye." Gobber accepted the burden and took off with Gothi travelling behind him.

With that out of the way, Stoick jumped off the boat and turned to the crowd. "You lot, go gather some fire wood. You three tend to tha bodies and you five get tha ship ready to sail. We'll turn tha ship into a mass pyre and send our warriors off ta Valhalla tonight."

"Yes Chief."

"Aye sir."

"Will do."

Came the replies.

With business taken care of, Stoick turned and opened the note.

 _Stoick the Vast,_

 _If your reading this, I assume you've found my little gift. You tried to stop me and you failed._

 _I hope next time you'll actually send a challenge. I also hope you'll be brave enough to face me yourself._

 _HHIII_

Stoick looked up, pain in his heart. The missing H he knew was intentional. The last time they had seen each other, Stoick had disowned him.

Turning his mind from the note, he went to go see how his brother in law was doing.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup limped back and fourth between the Forge and the anvil. He was currently walking on a wooden prosthetic leg, but he was aiming to fix it.

After he had lost his leg, he had been bed ridden for a week before he demanded for a peg leg so he could at least walk around. As he expected, he had about an inch of his leg left below the knee, but at least he wouldn't be shuffling along like Gobber did all the time. It hurt like crazy and re-learning how to walk on the new leg had been a pain, but at least he had been able to put his mind to more productive things than reliving the battle with the Red Death and the fight to get back to Outcast Island.

With him missing his left foot and Toothless' wing being broken, flying back had been out of the question. Getting around had been a real pain. He'd had to use the thigh bone of a long dead Nadder as a crutch while he used a Monstrous Nightmare's wing bone to splint the Night Fury's wing.

During the week they had been stranded on the island, the Queen's pained rasps had been a constant presence in the ambiance. They often kept him up at night, wondering if she would have the strength to pull through and if she did, would she be a threat, or a useful tool? He honestly had no idea. At least her blood had stopped pouring out of her mouth.

Getting off the island was the real problem. The dragons were eager to help their new Alphas at least and had gathered wood and food for him. He did his best to build a raft big enough for both him and Toothless, but that proved hard considering he had only one foot to walk on. Finally, after five days, the raft had started to take shape. The dragons must have caught on to what he was attempting because the next day they pulled a ship complete with the blood of it's previous crew onto the shores of the Nest.

Laughing to himself, Hiccup burned the raft and got the ship ready to set sail. Turns out, he never needed to, because as soon as he and Toothless were on board, the dragons began pulling the ship out to sea. They made the voyage from the nest to Outcast island in about half the usual time it would take.

Alvin had been taken completely by surprise by the arrival of Hiccup and the other dragons. He had expected the teen and his Night Fury to be long dead and had been making plans to rid himself of the dragons that were already living on the island. Thankfully, they hadn't been gone so long that Alvin had given up all hope, not that he actually cared about the lad. The man was greedy and power hungry. If there was any chance Hiccup could fulfill his goals for him, he'd keep the boy and his dragons around.

Toothless had been by his side during his whole recover time, ready to catch Hiccup if he fell and giving him a ride when he had to walk long distances.

Over time, he had slowly managed to build a new tail-fin and saddle frame out of Gronkle Iron for Toothless. It had taken a long time, but the occasional shuffling between the forge and the anvil had helped his walking ability tremendously.

With the amount of time he had been forced to sit, he had dyed a piece of cloth red and used it for the tail fin, just to make it stand out. For added flare, he had added the image of a Toothless outlined in silver. He had also completely redesigned the saddle. It was now made of black leather, had more convenient hand holds and many pouches to store things in.

About half a month after the battle with the Red Death, he had an idea so that if he and Toothless were separated in the air again, they would have more time to recover before they hit the ground. So he had built what he called, the DragonFly. It was essentially a small wing that would pop out when a spring loaded arm extended. There was only one way to find out if it worked, but without even being able to walk very well, he didn't dare test it out… yet.

Now, a full month after the battle, he was able to stand on his feet for longer periods of time and make the trips between the forge and the anvil far more easily.

He had designed many legs in his down time. The first of which being two metal shafts that were separated by a spring to give it the natural give of a real leg. Seven redesigns later, he had the design for what he was currently making, along with a pedal for Toothless' tail that would work with his own prosthetic. It was fitting, he thought. He had maimed Toothless' tail when they had first met, then Toothless had been forced to maim him in order to save his life. Now their replacements would work together.

The current design he was working on was actually a three in one deal. There would be the normal walking leg, which he was forging right now, the riding leg and an ice pick for winter. It wasn't until redesign five that he had thought of that. When he was using one leg, the other two would be hidden inside a metal cover, out of the way. By twisting the cover, he could change between the three legs. As the desired leg came down, the other would twist up and out of the way.

o~0~O~0~o

The rest of the day had been hectic for the Chief. He had been forced to make a statement to the Village about what had happened and to offer his condolences to the families. He still had a few to offer, but he would have to wait until the teens got back. Snotlout was lucky enough to have his father as the only survivor and Fishlegs' father had been chosen to stay behind to defend Berk, but both of the twin's parents had been killed as well as Astrid's father.

A ceremony had been held the night the ship had arrived on Berk's shore. It was a solemn event as the Chief sent the warriors off to Valhalla, but his mind was elsewhere. As soon as the mass pyre had sunk beneath the waves, he had raced off to the healer's hut to get some answers out of Spitelout.

He was forced to wait three weeks before his brother in law finally woke up.

"Ahhh… I feel like I just did 10 rounds with a Monstrous Nightmare." Spitlout groaned as he held his hand up to the bandages on his face.

"Ye probably did." Stoick replied.

Spitelout was about to remove the bandages when he felt Stoick's hand grab his.

"Not yet, ya still need ta heal."

"Ahug, not ye too. Nobody 'll let me do anythin' in this blasted place. I think I know how ta take care of meself…" Spitelout complained while Stoick remained stoic.

"Look, Can I at least get some water?"

The Chief turned and handed him a glass that had been set on a nearby table. Spitelout graciously took it and chugged it down. "What happened?" he asked when he finished the glass.

"Hiccup did."

The memories returned to Spitelout like a flood and he cringed.

"So I was beaten by 16-year-old."

"Yep, and you always said he was weak, that he would never amount to anything."

"How bad is it?" Spitelout dodged while pointing to the bandages.

"I'm told You'll have a mighty cool scar, but you'll never see outa that eye again."

Spitelout nodded, "Stoick…"

"Yes?"

"He's livin' up ta his name ya know."

Stoick narrowed his eyes at that statement, "What do ya mean by tha?"

"He's horrendous Stoick. He came outa nowhere in tha middle of tha night and obliterated us within two minutes. Two bloody minutes! He showed no mercy and killed without feeling. He smiled as he twisted 'is claw through Phlegma's chest!

"Wait, his claw?"

"He used a claw as his weapon. It came outa nowhere, black as night and able to cut through our best weapons'n armour like a hot knife through yak butter! Its what he used ta give me this." Spitelout pointed to his bandaged face, "Ya better face it Stoick, tha boy is not part of this tribe anymore. If he comes back he'll be tried fer mass murder. He's no longer the Hiccup the Useless we all knew. Now he really is Hiccup the Horrendous!"

o~0~O~0~o

The new leg was working wonders for him, and he had healed to the point where he could walk from the Outcast's mead hall all the way back to the Dragon's Volcano before he would be forced to rest. He still wasn't fully healed, but Dyri had said that with the progress he was making, he should be good to go within two weeks.

Hiccup was elated at the news, but he was still bored, so right now he was attempting to melt down dragon scales. It might be useful to have a material that could be fire proof. So far it wasn't going well. He had tried feeding them to a Gronkle, but that had just made her sick and barf lava all over the floor. The scales had floated to the surface, still intact.

The next thing he had tried was to heat them up with Fireworms. All he had managed to do was crack the stone beneath the scales. They really were fire-proof.

Now he was trying to figure out what to do next as he was playing with his claw. There wasn't much you could do after Fire Worms. They did heat up hotter than the sun after all.

As he continued to think, the claw caught most of his attention. He loved the way it seemed to destroy the light around it, and just to think, it had been Toothless who helped craft it.

Hiccup suddenly stood up, startling Toothless who had been napping beside him.

"Toothless, come here!" Hiccup exclaimed excitedly.

Toothless willingly followed his rider to the forge.

"Can you light it up bud?"

Toothless instantly let out a small blast and the coals roared to life with a purple glow.

Hiccup quickly threw some of Toothless' shed scales into the blaze, but was disappointed to find they didn't melt.

"AHUUUGGGHHHH!" he yelled out in frustration. Desperate, he went over to the bellows and tried to make the fire even hotter. He pumped until he was exhausted and the flames were the brightest blue he had ever seen. Still the scales did not melt.

Sighing, he conceded the effort, put out the flames, grabbed the scales and walked outside. It was late Fall; the snow would be falling soon, As such, it was quite cold and Hiccup found himself shivering as he made his way to his hut with Toothless following behind. Once inside, he started a small fire in the hearth and sat down to warm up.

He was still trying to come up with a solution as he twirled a scale around in his fingers. Absentmindedly, he started throwing scales in. It didn't really matter, he knew they wouldn't be destroyed and he could collect them later.

Toothless pressed his body against his rider in an effort to warm him up. It was still cold in the room and Hiccup was still shivering. The small fire wasn't warming the place up fast enough in his opinion. He didn't want Hiccup to catch a cold after all he'd been through. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He shot a plasma blast into the fire to make it bigger and warm the room up faster.

"Thanks." Hiccup smiled to the dragon who crooned in response. "You haven't seen Speedy around lately, have you?" The dragon shook his head, "I hope he isn't bothering the villagers again, you know what happened last time."

The dragon smiled at the memory as Hiccup laughed. The dragon had been smart, only stinging those who were doing small repetitive tasks like mending a fishing net or kneading dough. It was only at the end of the day when most Vikings were making their way to the Mead Hall for supper that it was discovered a full day's work had been lost for many. Alvin had been not at all pleased.

Hiccup turned his attention back to the fire, the coals were glowing orange but the flames had taken on a blue hue. He started to look for the scales but was surprised to several of them had lost their shape and were starting to drip.

"Toothless… check this out." The dragon started to gaze into the fire, but didn't see what his rider saw. Hiccup grabbed a metal poker and jabbed at one that seemed more solid than the others. The poker easily speared it and Hiccup brought it out of the fire. The scale, which was normally black, had a red glow around the edges and was dripping bits of molten scale onto the ground.

"Toothless, human fire and dragon fire alone… it does nothing to your scales. I've tried and tried to get them to melt but to no avail, but when the two are mixed, the scales melted with ease. We did it bud!" Hiccup said to the dragon with a wide smile on his face, "YES!"

The dragon grinned at his rider's excitement. He couldn't wait to see what Hiccup would be able to create with that brilliant mind of his.


	19. Chapter 19

**(A/N) I'm back, Yay. I don't have too much to say here so I'll just get right to the guest reviews.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Brenne: I have something awesome planned for the scales, you'll just have to wait an see. Also... I meant to do that, lol.**

 **Guest: Ya, I kinda have to distant a some of the teens from their parents and this gave me the perfect opportunity.**

 **Zela Night: Thank you.**

 **rpglady76: It might, haven't actually decided how something like that could work yet with where I'm going.**

 **Little NighFury17: I know about the PM thing, I just prefer to answer stuff all at one time right here. Also, thank you for all the comments you've written, I always love reading them.**

 **Have fun reading:)**

 **Chapter 19**

Both rider and dragon were giving it their all as they soared through the skies. It had been two months since the battle with the Red Death and both finally considered themselves well enough to fly again. After so long on the ground, they were doing everything they could to make up for lost time.

Currently they were soaring high above the sea, seemingly racing time itself. With every beat of Toothless' wings they went faster and faster. They were travelling so fast that Hiccup had to yell in order to be heard over the howl of the wind, "Shall we give this a try bud?"

Toothless warbled in anticipation.

Hiccup jammed the tail fin open and jumped out of the saddle. Toothless quickly folded his wings to follow the plummeting teen.

"WHOOOO-HOOO!" Hiccup cried out in joy as he glanced over to his companion. Toothless was right beside him, eyes closed and enjoying the sensation of free falling. Seemingly aware of his rider's gaze, the Night Fury opened his eyes and gave Hiccup a toothless smile while giving out a croon of glee, his tongue rolled out of his mouth and flapped in the wind. Hiccup smiled back, loving the feeling of the wind rushing over his face.

He reached over his shoulder, grabbed one of the arms of the DragonFly and yanked it open. Instead of both sides popping open at once like he had designed it to, only the right side did. Hiccup cried out in surprise as he started spinning in the air, but he still had a couple thousand feet to fall, he could fix this. Grabbing the second support, he yanked it open as well and stopped spinning.

"Yes!"

Hiccup attempted to angle himself out of the dive. It wasn't hard to level himself out, but rather than fly, he just continued to plummet.

"Whooaaaahhh!"

Toothless just watched on in amusement at his riders attempt to fly.

After a few more seconds of adjusting his trajectory, he finally managed to find an angle where he was more or less gliding rather than falling.

"YES! IT WORKS! Sort of." He didn't have much control and his flight wasn't very stable, but he wasn't falling to his death.

He looked back to see Toothless flying behind him with a cocked head.

"THIS IS AMAZING!"

Suddenly Hiccup heard a snapping sound and started spinning towards the ocean below.

"NO LONGER AMAZING!"

He looked around to see that the cloth wings he had created had ripped off of the support arm.

"TOOTHLESS!" He called as he attempted to close the supports.

Toothless was doing his best to keep up with his rider, but with Hiccup spinning out of control, it would be harder to catch him. With only 400 feet to spare, altitude quickly diminishing, Hiccup finally managed to close the wings and join up with his partner.

The two pulled out of their dive and leveled out so close to the surface of the water that they left a wake of foam behind them.

"YEEAAAAHHHHHH!" Hiccup called out. Toothless roared in agreement, carful not to light his companion on fire… again. They both loved the feeling of adrenalin pumping through their veins.

They zoomed past a school of surfacing Thunderdrums, barrel rolling under one of them as it jumped up onto the air.

After a few more minutes of flying the two found a small island and landed.

"That was spectacular, eh bud?" The dragon crooned in a tone that Hiccup knew meant the dragon was enjoying himself. He could practically hear the dragon's thoughts, 'It's good the get off the ground again.'

"You're telling me. Remind me never to loose a leg again so we don't have to spend massive amounts of time on the ground."

'You go it.'

"And it would appear that your new tail fin is a lot better than the last. It reacts faster, is lighter and stronger at the same time. Just think of the stunts we can do with this thing."

 **"The things that come from your mind and hands never ceases to amaze me."**

Hiccup wrapped his arms around his dragon and gave him a squeeze before turning and adding the island to the ever-expanding map he had started working on. Toothless turned, grabbed a nearby tree, ripped it out of the ground and began to contentedly chew on it.

o~0~O~0~o

Astrid was nervous as she tightened the straps on the saddle of the Sand Wraith, whom she had named Quicksand. Today was the day she would learn to fly.

It had been two months since she had tamed the dragon. Snotlout hadn't been too impressed with her achievement, but didn't dare attack it in fear of what the Hofferson would do to him. The twins had been ecstatic and had tried to get her reveal her secrets to them, but she didn't think giving the twins the means to ride a fire breathing reptile was a good idea. Fishlegs seemed curious, but had shown no signs of wanting one for himself.

After two weeks, Astrid had unloaded all of her stuff from the ship and sent her friends home declaring she would continue the search for Hiccup. It would be unfair to hold her friends to the same mission now that she wouldn't be accompanying them. Snotlout readily agreed and Fishlegs obeyed, but they practically had to drag the twins to the ship while they begged Astrid to teach them her ways.

Astrid and Quicksand's friendship had benefited both parties. Astrid had figured out a superb hunting strategy with the dragon. The island they were on was overpopulated with boars she found. So she had made a lot of noise behind them and herded them towards the beach. She even threw her axe a few times to get them running. As soon as the boars were on the beach, Quicksand would leap out of his hiding spot and take one out. The first time they had tried this strategy, they had gotten lucky. Quicksand had managed to pounce on one, spear another with his spiked tail and scared a third towards Astrid's waiting axe. Food had never been a problem for the two ever since.

During their stay on the island, the friendship between girl and dragon had grown exponentially. She had since learned that because the dragon usually spent a lot of time hiding underneath the sand, waiting sometimes for a week or two without moving, the dragon was full of energy and enjoyed running about and exercising. That was fine for Astrid, the two usually started the day going for a half hour run around the island. Being the faster of the two, the dragon would fly circles around the girl while she tried to keep up.

The day would be spent exploring the island. She noticed during these day trips that the dragon tended to avoid the sun like the plague and stayed within the shade of the trees. She figured that they would have to island hop during the night while looking for Hiccup unless she could figure out away to protect the Sand Wraith from the sun's rays.

That was why they had waited until dusk to attempt to fly. It actually seemed as if the dragon was exited to share the gift of flight with his friend.

When she was sure the straps were secured, she climbed on. She should have been nervous, and she was, but she wouldn't admit that to herself. She was Fearless Astrid Hofferson after all. And it wasn't like she hadn't flown before, even if she had been kidnapped by an insane, but experienced, rider the last time.

"Ok…" She said to herself, "Lets do this-" She could have sworn the dragon smiled as it took off with a powerful beat of its wings. "SLOWLY!" she cried out as she desperately clung to the saddle.

Quicksand seemed to laugh underneath her as he climbed higher and higher into the sky. Soon the island below them was but a speck in the light of the setting sun.

Astrid gasped in awe as she took in the beauty around her. She was getting the same rush she had when the ride with Hiccup had finally settled down. The sun was painting the sky with many shades of red, orange and purple. Streaks of fire seemed to reflect off the underside of the clouds around them. A few stars poked through the falling darkness as they entered a pink cloud of cotton. A light mist clung to her when they exited.

"This is amazing." She whispered to the dragon, "Thank you." The dragon below her crooned as if to say 'Your welcome.' And she smiled.

"Ok, I think I'm ready to try something a little faster." She felt the dragon tense up below her in anticipation of what was coming. Astrid smiled, "Lets do this."

It turned out that was not the right thing to say. She wasn't ready for what came next at all. The dragon folded its wings and dived towards the ocean. It was all she could do to hold on to the saddle as the dragon below her seemed to disappear. As she thought back to it, Hiccup had a flight suit to hold him to the saddle, all Astrid had was her fists. The dragon noticed this and leveled out. Astrid was just able to brace herself so that she didn't flatten into a pancake where she sat.

She couldn't help but marvel at Hiccup and Toothless at this point. The two were so in sync it was uncanny. They had to pretty much read each other's thoughts to fly with that prosthetic tail fin and have any hint of success at all. And on that first flight, she had seen Hiccup easily able to keep up with Toothless' antics. She and Quicksand could barely fly for five minutes together without her falling off.

"Maybe lets just start with a few simple turns." She suggested. The dragon grunted in agreement.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup and Toothless were dozing peacefully when all of a sudden the dragon's head shot up, startling Hiccup.

"What's the matter bud?"

The dragon took a sniff of the air and started to growl. Put on edge a little bit, Hiccup attempted to climb into the saddle. He was surprised when Toothless shoved him away.

"Toothless? What's going on?"

The Night Fury continued to growl, 'Get to cover.'

Hiccup drew his sword and rotated his claw into the ready position. "Not a chance bud. We've taken on a 300-foot dragon together and lived. Just because I'm missing a foot now doesn't mean I'm useless. Whatever happens to you, happens to me."

 **"You were never useless. Let no one ever say that to you again!"** The dragon growled as he took off into the woods. 'but this is between me, and him.'

Shocked that Toothless would leave him, Hiccup called out to his dragon and took off in pursuit, "Hey! Come back here! I can help!"

o~0~O~0~o

They had spent a full three hours in the night sky and Astrid was fairly confident in the saddle by now. She could feel the muscles of the dragon below constrict and contract in different ways as each new maneuver was made. She now also knew how to distribute her weight in each twist and turn that came their way. She also found that Quicksand could feel where Astrid wanted to go just by the way she positioned her body.

That wasn't to say that the two still didn't make mistakes, but she now felt confident enough to attempt a few minor stunts.

"Shall we pick up the pace?" she asked.

Quicksand was more than ready and eagerly dived towards their island. Astrid felt her companion's actions before he started and leaned into their plummet, laughing as she did so.

The two raced over a forest just feet from the tree tops. With each twist and turn that they made, Astrid felt it a split second before and adjusted her body before the maneuver. Quicksand rolled over in a barrel role as Astrid angled her body into it with a smile on her face. Then she spotted a cave in a nearby cliff that she knew from previous exploration was large and had two exits. She angled her body towards it and Quicksand followed her lead. He quickly figured out what the girl wanted to do.

The two flew through the opening, roaring and laughing in delight. The Sand Wraith's wings only had a foot of clearance on each side but the two never took notice, not even as they neared the exit. What they didn't see was the annoyed head that popped up as they flew through the cave. It wasn't happy that someone had disturbed its slumber.

Astrid whooped in joy and the dragon below her bellowed into the night as they made it through the cave. Their celebration was quickly cut short however an agitated roar cut through the night behind them.

Astrid glanced over her shoulder to see a clearly ticked off Monstrous Nightmare illuminated against the night sky behind them. She paled at the sight. No one from their group had ever killed one. Not even Snotlout was stupid enough to take one on. Hiccup was supposed to be the one to Kill the Nightmare in the kill ring, but that never went as planned. Stoick had cancelled the fight after his son had left.

She was tempted to flee, and she could tell the dragon below her seemed to be as well, but she wasn't sure they could out run it. Only one way to find out she guessed.

"Let's go."

Quicksand put on a burst of speed as they tried to get away. They raced around the island, in between trees, sea stacks and rock clefts to try and lose their pursuer. The only thing they managed to do was almost get roasted three times.

"This isn't working." She told her dragon, "We have to fight it!" Her dragon grunted in agreement.

Astrid felt adrenalin start to creep into her body as they turned to face their attacker. The Monstrous Nightmare was a lot bigger and more powerful, but they were fast and had maneuverability on their side. The downside, she still didn't know her dragon's full capabilities, not even his shot limit.

They flew by the Nightmare as it tried to turn and meet them, but it only felt the Sand Wraith's blast of hardened pellets of sand and flame hit its chest before they were gone. Though the fire as weak, the hardened balls of sand managed to chip a few scales off of the Nightmare's hide and leave behind a few bruises. Twice more they did this, only dealing minor damage, but wasting the Nightmare's shots in the process. The third time however, they only barely manage to escape the fire.

"That was a little too close for comfort." Astrid commented as she shook fiery napalm off her metal skirt. Then an idea came to her, "Can you land a shot in its face?" The Sand Wraith made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a laugh. "Alright. We can do this!"

The two charged the Nightmare head on and barrel rolled, perfectly in sync, around the burst of fire the dragon shot at them. True to his word, Quicksand landed a blast in the dragon's face as Astrid readied her axe and directed her partner below the beast. With her target in view, she swung it at the Nightmare's chest, right where Quicksand had chipped away it's scales with his first shot.

The Nightmare roared out in pain as the axe lodged itself in it's body. It wouldn't live long.

Astrid shouted with joy and Quicksand roared out in victory as they waited for the Nightmare to die so they could retrieve Astrid's axe from it's body. They had their first victory together. They were now officially rider and dragon and would have each other's back as long as they both lived.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup continued to run after his friend long after he lost sight of the dragon. He couldn't believe Toothless would just leave him like that. They were practically brothers, they were supposed to be there for each other no matter what.

He came to a stop when he almost fell into a large hole in the ground. He recognized the signs immediately. Whispering Death. He couldn't see Toothless around anywhere, but if he was really going after a Whispering Death, the most obvious place to so would be down the hole. Without hesitation, he jumped in.

It was dark… very dark. Especially since there was no sunlight to shine down the hole, sunset had passed long ago. Cautiously he made his way through the tunnels. Every ounce of his body wanted to call out to Toothless, but if the dragon hadn't responded before, he wouldn't now. Besides, from what the Book of Dragons had said, Whispering Deaths could be very territorial. It wouldn't be smart to be caught by a wild one inside its home.

He had only travelled for about a minute before he heard the sound of a large mass making its way towards him. He quickly hid behind a pillar of dirt and chanced a peak. There was the Whispering Death making its way down the tunnel. By its behaviour, he could tell it knew he was in hear. It had likely known the moment he'd entered and had come running.

It slithered right by him. His eyes widened when he caught sight of a scar on its flank as it went by. It was a perfect match to a Night Fury's bite. Well that confirmed that the two dragons had a history together, not a very good one however.

As soon as it was gone he made a break for it. If the dragon knew he was here, it would definitely know if Toothless was. Considering it was going for him and not the dragon, it stood to reason that Toothless wasn't down here. He could attack the dragon and end this here and now, but fighting a Whispering Death underground was not the smartest idea.

He had almost made it back to the hole when he tripped over a root and fell to the ground with a thud. Behind him, he heard the dragon begin to tear through dirt. This couldn't be good.

o~0~O~0~o

High up in a tree, Toothless had watched his rider jump into the hole. It was a stupid move, but he knew his rider was curious and perfectly capable of handling himself. Hiccup knew what he was doing.

He had no concern for his rider, that was until he spotted him being thrown out of the hole with a Whispering Death right behind him. With a shriek, Toothless launched himself out of the tree and snagged Hiccup from the air.

The two landed in a heap on the ground. Quickly as lightning, Toothless was up and in a defensive stance, letting loose a growl and staring down his rival. Hiccup, to his credit, quickly recovered and moved into a defensive stance of his own with both his claw and sword at the ready.

The Whispering Death narrowed its eyes as it realized who had saved the boy who had invaded its home. So much for the element of surprise.

The Whispering Death dove into the ground and Toothless had just enough time to jump out of the way as the ground he'd been standing on moments before disappeared in an explosion of rocks and dirt. The Whispering Death flew high into the air. Toothless attempted to follow, but with his prosthetic tail closed, he quickly fell back to the ground.

Realizing his opponent was flightless, the Whispering Death dove back into the ground and continued his gorilla attacks. He had the Night Fury on the run as when he was underground he feared no attacks from his foe and was well out of reach in the air.

It was only a matter of time before the Night Fury was out maneuvered and pinned by the beast. This was it, the dragon had him and would show no mercy. However, instead of feeling his flesh and scales ripped apart by reciprocating teeth, he heard a roar of anger fill the air. He looked up just in time to Hiccup's figure fly through the air, his claw making a downward arc towards the Whispering Death. The dragon shrieked in pain as three metal blades sliced though its wing.

The Whispering Death fell to the ground as Toothless regained his footing and snarled. His rival dove back into the ground to come up with a new plan.

Turning from the hole his foe had escaped through, Toothless set his gaze on Hiccup.

"Toothless, you don't have to do this alone. I can help you. Were a team, you and I. Wherever you, go, I go. Were partners, equals, together until the end. Without you, my life isn't worth living." Hiccup spoke as he held his hand up to Toothless' snout.

The dragon didn't hesitate to place his head in his rider's palm. " **You're right. Were a team, you and I. Brother's to the end."**

Hiccup grinned, "What do you say we show this guy what a Night Fury and his rider can do."

The dragon laughed, **"Agreed."**

"Can you flush him out of hiding?"

 **"Give me something hard to do next time."**

Hiccup mounted his dragon and the two took off into the Night. Normally they could have used the sun to their advantage as the Whispering Death's eyes were sensitive to light, but that wouldn't be possible at the moment. However, it would still help to get the dragon out of its element and the black of night was still an advantage to the Night Fury and his rider. With several quick blasts down the holes leading to the Whispering Death's home, the dragon was forced out into the open.

The tables had been turned so quickly. The Whispering Death who had been using Toothless' lack of flight and the earth around it to it's advantage now had neither. Toothless who had been flightless and an easy target was now in the air and hidden by the Night Sky around him.

With the help of his rider, the Toothless pounced on his enemy and pinned the Whispering Death to the ground.

"Finish it." Toothless heard his rider encourage as he gazed into his opponents frightened eyes. He didn't need to be told twice. Toothless' teeth easily ripped though his rival's throat and followed with a plasma blast. The struggling form below him instantly ceased its struggles and became still. It was over.

Smoke still steaming from his mouth, Toothless turned to his rider and grinned, **"It's always nice to know you have my back."**

Hiccup returned the gesture, "Same with you bud." but then he realized something. "Hey, since when can you talk?"

 **(A/N) So, some background knowledge for those who didn't read this before the major re-edit, this chapter was a huge mess. It's fixed now, but before it did say that Hiccup might only be able to talk to Toothless because he was an Alpha alongside Toothless. In the coming chapters, he could be seen talking only to Toothless and other Alphas of other packs, but not regular dragons.**

 **This is no longer the case. The chapters following this one now makes it so Hiccup can talk to Toothless, and only Toothless. Why? Originally, I didn't want any dragons talking at all, but then this chapter happened and Hiccup talks to Toothless quite a bit. However, I felt that it was too easy for him to just be able to talk to all Alphas, so I removed that ability.**

 **There's two ways I can see that you could explain his ability to talk to Toothless. One: He's developed such a close relationship with Toothless that he can understand the Dragon, or two: He's had so much negative contact with other humans, that he's driven himself a little crazy and is making up conversations in his head in a desperate attempt at approval.**

 **I am personally happy with both of these explanations and neither view really impacts the story too much, so take your pick or make up your own.**


	20. Chapter 20

**(A/N) So it looks like I'm going to be fairly busy this weekend, so I'm updating early. Next week I'll be back to uploading on either Friday or Saturday.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Guest 1: You'll have to thank rpglady77 for the name, but your welcome for the update.**

 **supermage543: Yes he did.**

 **Guest 2: I don't know what to say to you other than the fact this this is just a story. It's fiction so it doesn't seem like a big deal to me, especially since I'm a Christian. You see, we are all ultimately evil. We rebelled against God and therefore we have a sinful nature and desire what is evil. I've been learning this a lot lately. It doesn't matter how good we are, any one thing that we do against God separates us from him eternally. We deserve death and destruction, to be cast into hell. That's why he sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins, so that we might be reconciled in his name.**

 **Windrider340: Nice, its awesome when that happens. But no, Astrid will not be getting Stormfly later on, she is always going to be with Quicksand for this fanfic. Also, Yes, Hiccup lost his leg. Sorry, I thought I had made that quite clear.**

 **newk: It would have been, and I honestly laughed out loud when I saw that suggestion. Funny wasn't the thing I was going for with this name though which is why I didn't pick it.**

 **PlaidOtaku: Sorry about that, I was having trouble writing that last chapter. I must have rewritten it like five times, that was the best I came up with. The problem was I knew what I wanted to happen, but I had no idea how to actually do it properly like I usually do. Maybe I'll rewrite it sometime. And the Astrid thing, basically I'm setting up future plot points. I can't really say more without spoiling it.**

 **Little NighFury17: It happens. And thank you, I'll add it to my list of what to fix and take care of it.**

 **Chapter 20**

"FISHLEGS!" Snotlout yelled as he stood at the helm of the ship.

"Y-yes?" Fishlegs replied as he frantically made his way over to Snotlout while attempting to battle the cold wind whipping over the deck in vain. He wouldn't be surprised if is started to snow in the next day or so.

"How long until we get to Berk?"

"Three days, give or take half a day depending on the ocean currents and the wind."

"Good. I can't wait to get back."

"That is _if_ we were heading the right direction."

"How do you know were heading the wrong direction? Were in the middle of the ocean, its not like you have any landmarks."

"Well my first clue is that the sun is in front of us."

"You told me this morning to go towards the sun!"

"Did it ever occur to you that the sun moves from one side of the ocean to the other during the course of the day?"

"Whatever Fish-face."

"Is that why we were going in circles at noon?" Ruffnutt yelled out.

"Hey! It's hard to follow the sun when its right above you!" Snotlout called back.

Fishlegs sighed, "Just go that way." Fishlegs pointed to the East.

"Fine. I want to get off this bucket as soon as possible anyways."

"Hey! What's that?" Tuffnutt called out as she pointed to a speck in the air above them.

Ruffnutt followed her brother's line of sight, squinting to try and make out the shape in the sky, "Is that a dragon?" she asked.

Fishlegs shielded his eyes from the sun in order to see the black dot that was making its way towards their ship. "Can't be a dragon." He called out, "A dragon doesn't wobble like that. Whatever it is, I can't believe its still in the air."

"Well it's coming straight for us." Tuffnutt pointed out.

Fishlegs tried to study it more. It was too large to be a bird, but it didn't match any dragon he knew of. Plus, there were the erratic flight patterns to consider. A dragon was too graceful in the sky to look like that. The closer it got, the more it started to take on strange, yet familiar shape.

"WHAoooOOOoOooOoOOoooohhHHhhh!" Was the noise that came from the figure as it neared the ship. Snotlout drew his hammer and the twins rushed to grab a weapon of their own. Fishlegs stood and watched as the figure collided with their sail. "Ummmph." Was the noise that escaped it as it fell to the deck right next to Tuffnutt.

"Ow." The figure quickly got up, "Well that was hardly the dramatic entrance I was envisioning." He said as he dusted himself off.

Fishlegs took in the figures appearance. He was dressed in black and had two wide fixed wings on his back, one of which had broken in the landing and it appeared that he had a slight limp.

"Hiccup?" Tuffnutt questioned.

"Tuff? What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked as he folded up what was left of the wings.

"What are you doing here?"

"Having fun. What else am I supposed to do. I have no one to tell me what to do and my imagination is the only limit."

Tuffnutt's eyes widened, "Awesome!"

"What's with the wings?" Fishlegs called out.

"I feel out of Toothless' saddle once and hit the ground… hard. Hopefully it wont happen again."

"If your trying to copy a dragon, you should know that dragons have vertical stabilizers. It helps them to fly straighter. Their wings are also not fixed, but attached to their limbs."

"Thanks Fish, that might help."

"Why are you helping him?" Snotlout yelled, "He's the enemy!"

"We came here to try and make peace with him. I'm just trying to be friendly." Fishlegs timidly replied.

Hiccup laughed, "Peace is kind of impossible now."

"Why's that?" Ruffnutt questioned.

"Oh, you know, I'm taxing every ship that enters Berk's waters and just killed a bunch of you just over two months ago." Hiccup replied as if they should know.

"Say what now?" Snotlout asked.

Fishlegs immediately realized the situation and ran below deck.

"What, have you not been listening to the news? Your father, if he's still alive, should have gotten back to Berk by now."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FATHER?" Snotlout angrily replied.

"Seriously, where have you been?"

"Uh, at sea for six months looking for you. We left as soon as the ice was clear." Ruffnutt offered.

Hiccup pondered this, "Huh, I guess that would have been before I gave the message to Johann. Still, I promised everyone that ships had to either pay or face the dragons. I can't just let you be an exception. So… are you going to sink or swim?"

"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DAD!" Snotlout yelled out again.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, now where's my money?"

"AH! THAT'S IT!" Snotlout raised his weapon, followed by the twins. "No! He's mine! He's got no dragons around to protect him this time." Obediently, the twins stepped back.

Hiccup drew his sword, engaged his claw and smiled as Snotlout charged him. Sparks flew as Hiccup parried away Snotlout's hammer with his sword. With his other hand, Hiccup attempted to slash his opponent with his claw. Snotlout just managed to dodge out of the way as he brought his hammer around again. This time Hiccup used his claw to deflect the heavy weapon, the Nightshade Steel leaving deep gouges in the hammer.

Again, Snotlout brought the hammer down on Hiccup. He managed to sidestep the blow but received a punch to the face at the same time. Hiccup staggered back a few steps as Snotlout swung the hammer again. The blow glanced off of Hiccup's face. Stunned, he was forced to retreat a few steps, but quickly recovered and got ready for more.

Snotlout noticed his opponent's slight limp, "Hurt yourself on the landing?" he taunted with a smug smile as he attempted to kick out Hiccup's legs. His foot connected with Hiccup's left. Hiccup let out a grunt of pain as he fell on his back, but it was nothing compared the scream Snotlout let out as his foot connected with the metal prosthetic hidden beneath Hiccup's pants.

Hiccup quickly bounced to his feet, "Hurt it before I got here actually." he quipped.

He took in Snotlout's state. He was favouring his right foot heavily, there was likely a few broken bones. He would be slower on his feet and thinking less, a perfect opportunity.

Not willing to lose the fight, Snotlout painfully stepped forward and awkwardly took a swipe at his foe. Hiccup stepped towards the attack and dodged beneath the blow. He brought his sword up as the hammer came down. Snotlout's wrist landed on Hiccup's blade, the momentum of the hammer driving his hand down and severed it from his body. Blood spilled everywhere.

With a scream of pain Snotlout clutched at his limb as blood pored from the wound. He had no respite however as Hiccup kicked him to the ground. There he lay bleeding as Hiccup pressed his blade against Snotlout's neck, his eyes radiated pure fear.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time." Hiccup told his former bully with a gaze that could freeze a Monstrous Nightmare and raised his blade to strike.

"WAIT!"

Hiccup looked up to see Fishlegs standing on the deck. He was holding a bag which he tossed over. Hiccup easily caught it and looked inside to see many gold coins.

"Take it and go." Fishlegs continued before glancing over to the twins, "Help me with him, will you?"

The twins nodded and ran to grab some medical supplies as Fishlegs tore the sleeve off his shirt to make a tourniquet.

Turning from the scene before him Hiccup looked up and called to his dragon. In a matter of seconds, he was gone.

o~0~O~0~o

Though small by Viking standards, the Outcasts that Hiccup passed as he walked through the natural volcanic fortress gave him a wide berth, even without the Night Fury by his side.

Though far from being one of the best, Hiccup had proved himself to be a worthy adversary among the other men. He was quick and nimble and being as small as he was, he had been forced to adopt a fighting style that few on the island knew how to defend against. So, it was no surprise that the blood that still staining his clothes and the smile that adorned his bruised face helped to keep the Outcasts out of his way.

He had been summoned to Alvin's throne room for "a littl' chat," whatever that meant. The only thing he had been told was to not bring his dragons, apparently, they still made the men nervous. With everyone scrambling to get out of the way of the blood-soaked teen, it didn't take long to get to his destination.

Two guards stood at the doors to the throne room. In front of them stood Savage, who had a grin on his face. Hiccup returned the grin, reached down into one of his pockets and flipped a gold coin to the second in command. Without missing a beat, he threw one to each guard as well.

"I assume everything will go smoothly?"

"I'll make sure of it." Savage replied as he his grin grew wider.

"Good. Just remember, whatever you do, do discreetly, I'm not interested in a hostile takeover."

"Aye."

Alvin's "throne room" consisted of a small room made of chiselled rock and a large chair with a table situated in front of it. Predictably, Alvin sat in the large chair as Savage took his place by Alvin's side.

"Ave a seat." Alvin commanded as he pointed to a small chair in front of the table.

"I'll stand thank you."

"Ave it yer way." Alvin replied. "I hope it wasn't one of my men." Ponting to the blood.

"Just ran into and old friend."

Alvin nodded. "Ows tha leg?"

Hiccup glanced down at the prosthetic, "Oh you know, just a little limp, not bad. A little more practice and you'll never know."

"Good, an tha dragons?"

"They're safely minding their own business on uninhabited neighboring islands. The Whispering Deaths just laid their eggs so they're a little busy at the moment, but the rest are good to go."

"Did the Whispering Deaths ave a good clutch?"

"A very good one. Although one did lay an egg that was a lot bigger and an off colour. I'm interested to see what happens with it."

"Alright."

"Enough with the pleasantries Alvin, what's this about?"

"We intercepted a message bound for tha Meathead tribe." Alvin replied as he handed Hiccup a scroll. "Ya might want ta take a look."

Hiccup quickly read the letter that bore the seal of Berk.

 _Chieftain Mogadon the Meathead,_

 _I, Stoick the Vast, regret to inform you that the two trading ships you sent with our escort were destroyed, along with the six escort ships we sent. There was only one survivor, my second in command, Spitelout Jorgenson. My condolences go out to the families of the men who lost their lives on your ships._

 _I am also writing this letter to warn you that my son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, is indeed a legitimate threat. After Spitelout woke up from his injuries, he described the battle. Hiccup was quick, brutal and precise. Apparently, the battle only lasted about two minutes._

 _On my island, my people have started referencing my son as Hiccup the Horrendous. It is with a heavy hand that I write this. If he and his dragon are seen, they should be killed on sight. If you don't, they will show no mercy._

 _I wish you luck,_

 _-Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hairy Hooligans._

Hiccup handed the scroll back to Alvin with a raised eyebrow, "Hiccup, the Horrendous?"

"Aye. Seems you've earned yer title lad."

"I kinda like it. It shows they're scared."

"I agree, which is why we should attack now. You ave a reputation, the army is ready and Berk is ripe fer tha takin'.

Hiccup made a show out of pondering this before firmly replying, "No."

"WHAT!" Alvin roared.

"I said no."

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Now Alvin, maybe we should hear tha lad out." Savage interrupted.

Alvin turned to his second in command, "I DECIDE WHO TA LISTEN TA ROUND HERE!"

"I'm just sayin', maybe tha lad has a reason." Savage timidly replied.

Alvin turned back to Hiccup, "Ya better have a good reason… boy."

Hiccup smirked, "Do you remember that encounter I had with the Grimborn brothers?"

"What about them?"

"They mentioned they were working for an employer."

"So?"

"What do we know about this employer? We don't know who he is or what he plans, but his actions can tell us a lot. Remember, I had this encounter before my fight with the Berkian fleet. At that point, the only dragon I had ever been seen with was Toothless and too this day, everybody thinks I'm working alone. No one suspects that I made an alliance. So, at the rumors of a kid with a grudge all of a sudden befriending dragons, this mysterious person hires dragon hunters to track me down and discuss a potential alliance."

"What does that tell ye?"

"First of all, this person has some serious resources. It wouldn't be cheep to hire dragon hunters to look for one specific dragon for weeks on end. Two, he hires dragon hunters. What do dragon hunters do? They hunt and capture dragons to sell. It stands to reason he buys the dragons. Three, he wants to discuss an alliance. You need an army to make an alliance with others. If he's buying dragons, he probably has his own dragon army. My guess is he's been at it for a lot longer than we have. He could have other allies as well, backing him up. Four, he didn't come himself. He sent others who were able to look for weaknesses and strengths. He sent someone who could size me up and see what I'm capable of. He's not just looking to see if I would be a potential ally, he's checking to see if I would be worth his time, or if he should just come and destroy me."

"Interestin' idea, but why can't we destroy Berk anyways."

"If I made a threat, and only a threat, and he sent his goons out to scout me out, what would he do if we got into a major war? He'd see me as a real threat and come running. Whether to make friends or to take out the competition, I don't know. The word that I beat Berk's fleet is already making its way around. It's only a matter of time before he starts looking for me himself. Berk is large and has experienced dragon fighters and warriors. No offense, but the Outcast tribe is kinda small and though fierce, not the best at fighting. Even with dragons and Vikings working together, it could take a few weeks to take them out. I'd rather live if its all the same to you. I don't want someone coming after me when I'm already in the middle of a war."

Alvin pondered this, "Alright, you've made yer point." He grumbled, "So, what are we supposed ta do in tha meantime? Sit an' wait?"

"Not a chance. There's a tribe further to the North East. They're small and don't experience many dragon attacks.

"Tha Northlander Tribe, Right?"

"That's the one. If we do it right, we could run it over in less than a day, and if we play our cards right, make a point at the same time."

"I assume you 'ave a plan then?"

"You bet I do."


	21. Chapter 21

**(A/N) I'm back once again and guess what? We hit another milestone! 100 Favorites. I am so thankful for the support I've been getting with this story, it always makes me exited to write another chapter.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **That Night Of Fury: Thank you very much!**

 **5: Why does he keep the name Hiccup, because everyone knows him as Hiccup and he wants to make sure everyone knows what he does. Also I just don't want to call him anything else. And yes, he has changed and thank you.**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you.**

 **PlaidOtaku: lol, thank you. And yes, I will be waiting the full five years, but its been more like a year and a half.**

 **Brenne: Villain Hiccup can be cool, that's for sure. As for Hiccup and Stoick, you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **AvadaKedavra613: Hahaha! thank you for the compliments. Is Hiccup insane? That's opening a whole can of worms right there. The best way I can put it is he suffers from multiple personality distorter. The first personality is Hiccup as we know him. Kind, compassionate and forgiving. The second is Horrendous, He is the exact opposite. He mean, unforgiving and full of hatred towards his enemies. Horrendous has all but taken over Hiccup's mind, drawing strength from those who have hurt in in the past. It is only around dragons that Hiccup's actual personalty is able to back some control. Hiccup is still there, hence the nightmares and his tender moments with the dragons, just not really in control. I'm not a mental health expert so I probably butchered it a lot, but that's the best explanation I have. Also, I too struggle socially as well, I don't like to make a lot of friends, but by the grace of God I have actaully come to forgive and in some cases become friends with my previous tormentors.**

 **rpglady76: Pretty much.**

 **LittleNighFury17: I bet you can as well.**

 **Crystallion12: Thank you, but I would like to point out that Hiccup is planning and conniving during all this. He's just being patient and bidding his time until a good opportunity presents itself. He hasn't lost his smarts, thats for sure.**

 **Happy reading :)**

 **Chapter 21**

It was snowing lightly over Outcast island as Hiccup stood on top of one of the many cliffs that adorned the island. Toothless was sniffing around at the light layer of snow, oblivious to the fact that his rider was just standing, unmoving less than two feet from the edge. He did that so often, it had ceased to worry the dragon. Hiccup would always turn after an hour or two of staring at the horizon in a somber state, but a quick flight would always cheer him up.

Going unnoticed to the dragon, Hiccup was always looking in the direction of Berk when he did this, harbouring thoughts of anger, contempt, but mostly of what could have been.

Snotlout and the others should be getting back to Berk right about now, or at least they better hope so what with the darkened clouds on the horizon. A storm was brewing and if they didn't get back soon, they might have to wait out in the harbour for many days before docking, but by then, the ice might have set in.

Hiccup thought about the reactions the teens would have when they got back. He remembered the twin's parents were present during his attack on the Berkian fleet. They would be devastated to know that their parents had been killed, but they'd bounce back quickly. They always did. It would be amusing to watch Snotlout and Spitelout see each other again. He was pretty sure Fishlegs' parents were still living. The boy would get a loving embrace from his parents. It was this last thought that made his fists clench. If he was on that trip, the most he could have expected from his father was a nod from his father.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked his dragon without turning his gaze from the horizon.

 **"Yes."** The dragon answered while still nosing through the snow.

"What was your family like?"

The dragon paused his searching, looked up and sighed, **"I don't know."**

"You don't know?"

 **"I don't remember much of what happened before the Red Death. All I know is that we used to live way up North where the sun wouldn't shine for months, then something bad happened and I ran away. That's when I entered into the Red Death's influence."**

Hiccup remained silent for a few moments, "Would you… like to go see them?"

The dragon thought for a moment, **"No. I hardly remember them, but a doubt their still alive. Besides, they're not my family anymore, you are."**

At this, Hiccup finally smiled and turned to the dragon, walked over and gave him a hug, "You're mine as well. Your all I have left."

Toothless' eyes closed in bliss as he crooned and leaned happily into his rider. After a moment, Hiccup turned his eyes back towards the horizon and Toothless returned to sniffing in the snow. There had to be some of what he was looking for around there somewhere.

"Who needs them anyway." Hiccup scowled.

 **"Finally."** Toothless cried out in victory as he began scratching at some rocks in a small nearby overhang.

"What?"

The dragon quickly scooped up some of the ground up stones in his mouth and swallowed before turning towards Hiccup. **"Found some Boom Rocks."**

"Boom rocks?" Hiccup questioned as he came over to investigate.

 **"Ya, they somehow give power to my fire. I stock up on it every couple of months or so."**

Hiccup grabbed a rock and examined it, "This is Saltpeter."

 **"Tomato, tamato."**

"Interesting, as far as we knew, this rock was completely useless. I wonder how it works."

 **"Night Furies add powdered Boom Rocks to our fire Juice and we get a plasma blast."**

"Fire Juice?"

 **"ya, we chew on trees and our saliva extracts a fluid from them that's flammable."**

Hiccup thought about this for a moment, "Hey, do you think you could give me some of your saliva?"

o~0~O~0~o

"Chief."

Stoick looked up from his work in the Great Hall, organizing the villagers to make sure they were safe from the coming storm. Hoark the Haggard was addressing him. "Yes?"

"There's a Berkian ship coming in ta port, looks like it's the teen's."

Immediately Stoick was up on his way to the docks. He'd been fearing for their safety ever since Hiccup had destroyed the fleet. They had been gone so long that he had almost declared them to be dead.

When he exited the Great Hall, he noticed that the storm was just starting to pick up. The Teens better hurry. If they waited too long, they might be docking in a blizzard.

By the time he got there, Gobber, the Jorgensons and the Ingermans had already arrived. Mrs. Hofferson had lost the will to live after the passing of her husband and the prolonged absence of her only daughter. She had fallen ill a few weeks ago. Stoick was relieved that the teens were back, without Astrid, he feared that the elder Hofferson wouldn't make it through the winter.

The wind was starting to pick up and the snow was starting to blow when the lines from the ship were finally secured and the gangplank was lowered. The first to exit were the twins.

"HELLO BERK!" Tuffnutt shouted, "We are back with wondrous tales of untold adventures!"

"Ya, you wont believe some of the things we did." Ruffnutt continued.

"As long as ya did them somewhere _other_ than Berk." Gobber shouted out.

Fishlegs was the next to exit the ship, supporting a hobbling Snotlout. His foot was broken in several places from when he had kicked Hiccup's metal leg and was severely swollen. Even if he hadn't lost his hand he would need to go see Gothi.

Spitelout walked up to his son, the Ingermans hanging back out of respect for the injured. They could greet each other later when their son wasn't encumbered.

The two Jorgensons made an interesting pair. Spitelout had just had the bandages removed from his face. Three raw scars ran down the left side of his face and he wore an eye patch. Though it wasn't particularly visible at the moment, the scars ran down to his shoulder and he wouldn't be able to use that arm much for the next few months. Snotlout on the other hand had his right arm bandaged heavily, ending in the stump. It was also obvious that he was doing everything in his power to keep any weight off of his right foot.

Snotlout was the first to break the silence, "What happened to your face?"

"What happened to my face? What happened to… well… This?" Spitelout gestured to Snotlout's broken body.

The stood in silence for a moment before they both muttered "Hiccup." At the same time with a scowl. The boy had got the best of both of them and they were clearly not happy with it.

The Chief stood, looking with worry for the one face that hadn't shown itself. "Where's Astrid?"

"Fishlegs looked up to his Chief, contemplating how to explain things. It should be handled with tact and delicacy, "Well… Umm... You see-"

"OH! CHIEF! You should have seen it! She was AWESOME!" Ruffnutt interrupted.

"YA! The dragon was all like 'oh, I'm going to eat Snotlout who cries like a baby and she was all like 'No, don't eat him, that's no fun, lets beat him up together' and then they became friends and she rides a dragon and it was so AWESOME!" Tuffnutt spat out.

"YA! What he said." Ruffnutt agreed.

Fishlegs facepalmed as the Chief raised an eyebrow.

"You see, she thought it would be smarter to look for Hiccup, who rides a dragon, on the back of a dragon. Of course, that was before we found out how far gone he was." Fishlegs answered the unspoken question as he gestured to Snotlout.

"Smart lass, I hope she knows what she's getting herself into."

"You mean we have another dragon loving traitor on the loose and your just going to let her get away with it!" Spitelout shouted.

Stoick turned to his second in command, "Oh stuff it up yer arse Spitelout!" Stoick growled, "What happened with Hiccup was regrettable. I listened to tradition instead of doing what I should have. I've regretted every moment since then. If I could take it all back I would, then we wouldn't be dealing with all… this." Stoick gestured to the two Jorgensons in front of him.

"Hey, I hate to break this up, but I see Snotlout and Fishlegs' parents, but where ours and Astrid's." Ruffnutt asked.

"Come, lets get out of the cold, we have a lot to talk about." Stoick answered.

o~0~O~0~o

The winds were whipping the waves up to the height of 10 feet and the snow was coming down like there was no tomorrow when the ship finally entered the enclosed grotto made of ice. In no time at all, the ship, which had been thrown around in the storm, was sailing on a sea of black glass. They weren't the only ship here, there were hundreds of large ships maned by many thousands of men all anchored here to receive shelter from the storm.

In the aftermath of the blizzard, it would take weeks of chopping through ice to free them, but for now, they were safe.

It didn't take long for the men aboard to find the particular ship they were looking for and toss lines to each other. Once they were secured and a gang plank was lowered, Viggo and Ryker Grimborn both crossed to the second ship and made their way to the Admiral's cabin.

The cabin was far from being decorated modestly. Purple drapes hung at the windows, the carpet was an opulent red and the bed was huge. The walls were adorned with decorative weapons and the stuffed dragon heads of various species. A rather large, mahogany chart table took up the center of the room.

Standing at the head of the table was a rather imposing figure with a scared face, black dreadlocks and dressed in a dragon skin cloak rumoured to be made from the hide of a Night Fury. Drago Bludvist was a name feared by all who knew of him. He was cunning, cold, ruthless and if something ever went awry, you stayed out of his way. It was never his fault.

The man looked up from his map towards the two figure who invaded his space.

"Drago." Viggo nodded as Ryker stood respectfully at his brother's side.

"Viggo." Drago nodded back, "I take it you found the boy?"

"Just like I promised, I found him, talked to him, and spent the rest of the season sizing him and his army up."

"And…"

"He's smart, I'll give him that. If the opportunity presents itself, I would be honoured to become involved in a battle of wits against him. And that's not something I say about a lot of people."

Drago nodded, "And his army?"

"That's a tough one to answer, I'll give you my evaluation and you come up with your own conclusion. From what I saw, there is no clear gathering of dragons. They're all spread around the archipelago as if they had no alpha to call their own."

"What about the Northern Nest?"

"We made an expedition to it. It was strange entering, we had no opposition. The closer we got to the nest the more our progress was impeded by fallen sea stacks which had all been knocked away from the nest..."

"Go on…"

"When we got there, it was gone. The whole mountain had been destroyed. It was less than half of it's original height and there was not one dragon in the area. Whatever happened, it was devastating."

Drago thought about this for a minute, "So, we have a boy who goes rogue against his tribe with a Night Fury. No known allies, and no dragon army, yet able to completely level mountains and destroy entire nests, by himself."

"Not exactly, he does have a few dragons with him. We saw him use a Monstrous Nightmare as bait."

"That's not too troublesome."

"I know, but there's more. Not too long after we met him, he attacked a fleet of ships out in the open ocean. He killed every single person aboard those ships except for one whom he left as a messenger."

Dragon thought about this for a moment, "He must have an Alpha somewhere"

"If he does, it's not in the archipelago."

Drago nodded and turned to his charts once again, trying to find an area with a high concentration of dragons.

"There's more though. The Vikings there fear him. Enough to give him the name of 'Hiccup the Horrendous,' a few have even added, 'Dragon Master.'"

Drago froze, his fist tightening. He glared at the dragon hunter, there was venom in his voice as he replied, "Thank you… That will be all." Walking around the table, he pushed past the two men and didn't look back. Ryker was about to ask about the 5000 pounds of gold they had been promised, but Viggo quickly shook his head no. Now was not the time or place if they wanted to keep their heads, they could get their money later.

o~0~O~0~o

It was well into the second day of whiteout conditions when Hiccup checked on the bowl of dragon saliva he had placed in his forge. He had originally placed it in his hut, but it had begun to stink the place up before too long.

Just like he had hoped, there was a half inch layer of strange liquid floating on top of the dragon's saliva. Carefully picking the bowl up, he poured the fire juice into five small containers that held about 100 millilitres each. Grabbing one, he decided to light it on fire and see what happened.

He was careful to put on some gloves that he had made out of the hide of Toothless' rival. He was going to be working with fire, no use burning himself.

At the smallest spark, the fluid instantly caught fire. It burned bright blue. He stared, amazed at this strange flame that grew in intensity the longer it burned. He continued to stare at it, just watching for five minutes, before it burned itself out.

He grabbed another one to light it on fire as well. This time he wasn't just going to let it burn, he wanted to know how hard it would be to put it out. Just as before, the fluid lit up easily, and Hiccup began trying to blow it out. It took a surprising amount of breath to blow it out, which was good, but when he paused for a breath, the fluid relit itself and continued to burn. Puzzled, Hiccup blew it out again, and once again, the flame came back.

Frowning, he grabbed the empty container and placed it over the flame, cutting off the supply of oxygen to the source. After 30 seconds, he removed the container. There was clearly no flame when he removed the container, but after about a second, the flame reappeared.

Grabbing some water, hiccup poured a little bit in. The flame went out, but as Hiccup peered in, it once again started to burn. Curious, he watched it until the flame ran out of fuel and extinguished itself. Peering into the container he was surprised to see the water he had poured in was still there.

Intrigued, he grabbed a larger container and putting a large piece of wood in it, Hiccup grabbed the third container of fire juice and poured it onto the wood. Once again, he lit it and the blue fire burned bright. Grabbing the water again he poured it on the flames. The fire scattered but refused die without a fight, instead running off the log and was pushed around to the edges of the container before continuing to burn on the surface. As soon as the water ran off the log, the flames returned.

Grinning like mad at this revelation, he turned to the fourth container of fire juice and brought it to his work area. Lighting it once again on fire, he turned to a small pile of white rocks and threw one in. As expected, nothing happened. He turned to a second pile of powdered Saltpeter, grabbed the dust and tossed it in. Instantly, the flames mushroomed into a ball of fire that licked at the ceiling.

Hiccup cringed as he muttered, "Not again." When it died down there were a few flames lingering, but thankfully, they were orange instead of the blue ones he had been dealing with.

Grabbing s nearby pail of water, he quickly went to combat the flames before they got out of control.

When everything was out, he grabbed the last container and held it in the light. A grin worked its way onto his face, though it hadn't actually turned into plasma, this fluid had loads of potential. Ideas came flying through his mind with what he could do with this stuff, and he had the only supply of it in the world! What's better was he was the only one that knew about it.

He also knew there was a way to turn it into plasma, he was just missing something. Once this storm was over, he was going to figure it out.


	22. Chapter 22

**(A/N) I don't really have anything to add here so I'll just get right into the Guest Reviews.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **5: There's room for thought here, and we'll see Astrid Again, don't you worry.**

 **Guest 1: The thing about Hollywood is that it likes to portray that we as humans can have it all together without help. Everything we need is within us. Hiccup is seen as an incorruptible character. That is completely false. I love How To Train Your Dragon and Hiccup is an awesome character, don't get me wrong, but I do have one issue with him. No matter what, he is always doing good and saving everyone out of his own strength. He's too perfect, and that is our role model, something we can never become. The Bible mentions lots of people, Abraham, King David and the Apostle Paul are just a few. Abraham lied to Kings and was an idol worshiper, King David lusted after a woman and had her husband killed and the Apostle Paul murdered hundreds of Christians. What do they all have in common? They were all sinful people who gave their lives to the Lord and were used by God to do amazing things. We, humans, are the antagonist in the Bible, God is the protagonist who reconciles us to himself. Hiccup may look like he has it all put together in the movies, but the truth is, he is the antagonist in God's story, and without him he is lost, a hopeless sinner who only deserves death. By writing this Fanfic, I am making it clear that no, Hiccup does not have it all together. Even with all the works and good deeds he has done, he has nothing.**

 **"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephisians 2:8-9 (NKJV)**

 **There have been many people who have also tried to reveal the truth through this "evil" point of view. C.S. Lewis is a good example. He choose to write about how the Devil tried to corrupt us through the point of view of demons in his Screwtape letters. His main characters are purely evil and yet his writing has helped many strengthen their faith. God can use absolutely anything to help further his plan.**

 **Guest 2:Thank you.**

 **PlaidOtaku: Good to hear and thank you.**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you.**

 **Brenne: Oh I got something real nice planned, just hold on a few chapters and we'll see a bunch of his resent discoveries rolled into one.**

 **AvadaKedavra613: I try my best to avoid any spelling mistakes, but a few occasionally do go through. Although when certain people are speaking I do make a few spelling mistakes on purpose just to try and capture their accent. Also, I try to not use swear words, even in real life. I could probably count the number of times I've slipped up on one hand. If you did see one let me know where it is and I'll fix it right away. As for the schedule, I've mentioned this before, but I try and upload sometime either Friday or Saturday. If I'm feeling generous, sometimes I'll upload an extra chapter on Tuesday or Wednesday. It all depends on how much I've written really.**

 **DeadMenPlaying: Thank you.**

 **Little NighFury17: Nice, good for you. Also, there are always going to be people who don't like what you write, you just have to roll with the punches. And thank you.**

 **NOrmal99: We'll see :)**

 **Happy reading and please take time to review, I love hearing your guy's thoughts.**

 **Chapter 22**

Hiccup had spent a total of a week attempting to find out how Toothless turned the fire juice into plasma with no success. The only breaks he had taken were out of necessity and a few quick flights around the island with Toothless. The Night Fury had been of little help when it came to trying to figure out the solution as he had no idea why it was different when he made his fire, so Hiccup was on his own.

Frustrated, he decided to take a step back from his work and go on a long fight with his friend to clear his head. A quick patrol along the waters of Berk should do the trick, he was getting low on gold anyways. No gold meant no bribes.

Hiccup threw on some heavy furs and the two were quickly in the air and speeding over the ocean towards Berk, but he was astonished to see that the layer of ice around Outcast Island stretched farther than he had thought. In fact, in all of his years and all of the years he had heard about, the ocean had never frozen over solid like this. That blizzard must have been the worst of the century.

This was not good for Hiccup. He hadn't been expecting many ships in the winter, just enough to see him through when he needed it. He'd have to push for the attack on the Northlander tribe to happen soon if he wanted his plan to work out. That idiot Alvin had been so easy to manipulate, he couldn't let the weather spoil everything now.

Trying to enjoy the flight, Hiccup pushed the thoughts from his mind. Instead the two just enjoyed the sensation of the wind flowing past them in complete silence.

It wasn't long before the two spotted a thin wisp of Smoke on the horizon, far from land. Curious, Hiccup directed them towards the source. They were there in a matter of minutes, from his vantage point, it looked like a ship had been trapped in the ice. On closer inspection, he discovered it to be trader Johann's.

He directed their flight down towards the ice and landed. Walking up to the ship with his dragon faithfully at his side he took a close look at the ship's condition. The ship itself had been forced up and out onto the surface by the expanding ice, several of the timbers lining the hull had been split by the pressure and a couple planks were missing. It could be saved if someone acted quickly, but if it was left till spring the ship would surely sink.

Once he climbed aboard he could see why several of the planks were missing. Johann was sitting with his back towards him around a small fire and covered in every fur aboard the small ship, he was shivering and doing his best to keep warm.

"Ahem." Hiccup coughed.

Johann jumped and turned to see Hiccup and Toothless. If it was possible, the trader only seemed to pale more at the sight.

"A-ah, M-master Hiccup, f-fancy m-meeting y-you here." He managed through the shivers.

Hiccup glanced over to the dragon beside him and gestured to the fire. The dragon complied and shot a plasma blast in the center. Instantly the air around them seemed to raise a few degrees. Rather than comfort Johann, the fire only seemed to scare the trader more.

"Relax, if I wanted you dead you would be already."

The comment only comforted the trader a little, "T-then what d-do you want?"

"To know why your coming in on the North side of Berk. There are no villages farther to the North than Berk. Are you trying to escape the protection tax Johann?"

"N-no sir, y-you see, Berk actually isn't the most Northern tribe around. There's a tribe of Nomads that live far to the North on an island of ice." "Johann quickly forgot his fear as he began regaling the young man in front of him, "This tribe is very hard to find, they have almost no contact with the outside world. They're very fierce and its hard to gain their trust. Legend says that they once followed the infamous Night Furies that lived there."

Hiccup smirked at the obvious ploy to get on his good side and glanced at his dragon, to his surprise the trader had Toothless' full attention. Turning back to the trader, Hiccup decided to give the man's story some serious thought.

"I met them one day by chance some many years ago, when my ship washed up on their shore after a rather terrifying storm. At first, I thought I was going to be dragon lunch when I spotted the black shadows of the Night Furies against the white backdrop of the snow in the distance, but then I discovered the-"

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt Johann, but is there anything of importance that I might like to know?"

"Don't rush me lad, A good story must always be told properly in order not to ruin it."

Hiccup, surprised at the display of bravery from the usually timid trader, glanced over to his dragon and gave the dragon a surprised look. Toothless crooned a laugh, **"I don't think I've seen anyone stand up to you like that and get away with it since we left Berk."**

"Ha ha, very funny." Hiccup replied.

Johann gave the lad a strange look before continuing on with his story, "Anyways, as I was saying, then I discovered the folks that were living near by. I quickly shouted for their attention to warn them of the impending dragon attack. To my surprise, they seemed to pay the dragons no mind at all and instead came towards me with rather pointy looking spears. My fears turned from being eaten by a dragon to becoming a shish-cabob in a mater of seconds."

"Johann, no offence but I don't have time for this, can you hurry the story along a bit? You said they once followed the Night Furies, what happened to them?"

Johann was about to protest when he took in the annoyed teen's face and remembered what the lad was capable of when he didn't like something. Wisely he chose to comply with the young man's request. "As you wish Master Haddock-"

Hiccup drew his sword and pointed it at the man's neck, "DON'T YOU DARE EQUAIT ME WITH THAT NAME AGAIN! MY NAME IS HICCUP THE HORRENDOUS! THAT MAN WHO CALL'S HIMSELF HADDOCK IS OF NO RELEATION TO ME WHATSOEVER!" Even Toothless was a little surprised at his rider's sudden outburst, but he quickly recovered. It wasn't like he shouldn't have expected it. Besides, he didn't like that big man either.

"N-now n-now Master Hiccup, n-no need to g-get violent here." Johann consoled, "Y-you can let a poor old trader m-make a mistake once in a while, can't you?"

Hiccup sheathed his sword and conceded, "Alright, but only because I'm interested in what you know, and make it quick!"

"Y-yes M-master Hiccup. I actually never got to see the Night Furies up close, so I can't say what happened to them exactly. And I never bothered to ask the men who lived there, but I can tell you that they disappeared about 13 years ago. That was about the same time the Nomads lost most of their warriors. I always assumed that a war broke out and the Nomads somehow won. I came across a Night Fury skeleton one time on the tundra several years later. It was just barely visible underneath the snow. If I hadn't tripped over a rib I would never have seen it. I still have the skull down below if you want to see it. It was such a rare find that I never had the urge to part with it. That and I was also sworn to secrecy on my life… but I think I can make an exception just this once."

Hiccup nodded and the trader quickly shed the blankets and disappeared down into the hold. A moment later he was back and holding a gleaming white dragon skull. Hiccup didn't even have to look between the skull and his friend to know that it was indeed a Night Fury's. There was no faking that streamlined look.

Hiccup turned to his friend, "What do you think bud?"

 **"His story matches what I remember, I think we should believe him. It would be hard to come up with that story if he didn't know a Night Fury's true origin."**

Hiccup nodded and turned to the trader, who had a questioning look on his face., "Alright, we believe you."

"Umm… T-thank you master Hiccup."

"Now. Down to business, your still inside of Berk's waters. You owe me 20 pounds in gold."

"N-now Master Hiccup, you also said that information relating to dragons would do as well, I just gave you information about the Night Fury species." As the trader finished speaking, he cowered under Hiccup's glare.

"How much of that do you think I didn't know already? I have a Night Fury as a best friend."

"U-umm… A-all of it?" Johann timidly replied.

Hiccup was about to protest when the dragon growled, "Fine, we'll accept your payment. Let it never be said that Hiccup the Horrendous doesn't keep his word." With that, he turned to climb back into the dragon's saddle.

"W-wait!"

Hiccup turned and faced the trader once again.

"What?"

Johann held out the skull, "I-I'll give this to you as well if you give me a ride into Berk, it's not worth my life. I'll surly freeze to death out here."

Hiccup glanced down to the item in Johann's hands and then looked to his friend.

 **"Don't look at me, I don't want it."**

"Keep it, were not interested." He began to walk towards Toothless once again.

"WAIT!" Johann was panicking.

Sighing, Hiccup turned to the trader again, "What?"

"I'll give you the gold you ask for!"

Hiccup smiled, "Deal."

o~0~O~0~o

Johann had been relatively silent during the trip south to Berk. After all, it was his first time on the back of a dragon and he just happened to be sharing said dragon with a boy he knew to be insane. He was relieved once the isle of Berk finally came into sight.

The strange thing was, as they neared, there was no shout of "DRAGON!" or rush about the place to defend themselves. It was the middle of the day so they were plainly visible to the naked eye. In fact, the place appeared to be completely abandoned.

The original plan was for Hiccup to drop Johann off in the woods so he could walk into town on his own, but curiosity was getting the better of him. He wanted to know what was going on, Berk had never been this quiet. "If this is a trick…" he let the unspoken threat hang in the air as he turned to Johann and raised an eyebrow

"I-I assure you Master Hiccup, my motivations are purely honest. I have not approached any member of the Hooligans with a plot against you, n-nor have I been approached."

Hiccup accepted the answer and nodded. Within moments they had landed and were walking around he center of town. The only sound that could be heard was that of the wind blowing snow around the empty huts.

"What happened here?" Hiccup asked as he peered into an empty house. The door had been left open and a snow drift had formed inside the building.

"I have no idea Master Hiccup."

"There's no signs of a fight. No spears, arrows swords or bodies. Heck, there's not even a torched house."

"It is very peculiar. You know this reminds me of the time that I found a derelict ship out-"

"Did you ever find the crew?"

"Well, no."

"Then I don't want to hear about it… Toothless?"

 **"What?"**

"Can you smell anything. Any trace of any Viking anywhere?"

 **"Faintly, I'd say this village has been abandoned for about six days."** The dragon answered as he continued to sniff about.

"They could be anywhere on this island by now then."

"Ahh, what's that Master Hiccup?"

"There hasn't been anybody here for six days, it only takes four for someone to cross this island if they hurry."

"How do you know that?"

"I've done it lots, helps when your trying to get away from Snotlout and the twins on camping trips."

"No, I mean how can you tell they've been gone six days?"

 **"Hiccup."** The boy ignored Johann and turned to the dragon, **"I smell something else, Speed Stingers."**

Hiccup burst out laughing, "You mean those things are here? Berks doesn't stand a chance."

"What's here, why doesn't Berk stand a chance?"

 **"Got their sent. This way!"** The dragon shoved his head between Hiccup's legs and threw him onto the saddle before taking off into the sky, leaving Johann behind shouting after the pair.

o~0~O~0~o

It was a very good area to defend and hold out, Hiccup had to admit. The Vikings were in a sheltered cove with only one way in and one way out. Still, as the two of them watched from the shadows of a tree above, the rider and the dragon could only see a few figures moving around. The rest had all been frozen with Speed Stinger venom.

"Shall we make our presence known?" Hiccup whispered.

 **I'll watch from up here, just in case one of them tries something."**

Hiccup nodded before making his way down towards the entrance. He entered with confidence and for a while, no one paid any attention to the boy dressed in furs as he walked around. Instead they were focused on building better defences, storing food or trying to unfreeze some of the unlucky villagers with no success.

He was smiling to himself as he spotted the stiff figures of Spitelout and Snotlout standing side by side with swords raised high. They made an interesting sight the two of them, Spitelout with his eye patch and Snotlout with his hook. He could tell from their eyes that they had clearly seen him and so he chuckled. They would be furious when they were able to move again.

As he continued looking around he saw Ruffnutt sitting beside her frozen brother and moving his limbs into weird positions. The next person he saw took his breath away, backed into a corner some 30 feet away was Stoick the Vast, frozen with his hammer in mid swing and an angry roar etched on his face.

Paying no attention to the others around him, he walked up to the Chief and stood in front of him. The Chief's eyes were still able to move and soon enough, the two were looking into each other's faces. Hiccup just stood there, in silence, letting his rage boil to the surface.

Stoick couldn't believe his eyes, there, right in front of him was his son. He'd grown a few inches since he had last seen him, his hair was a little longer than before and his face was becoming leaner, but it was still Hiccup! He wanted to embrace him in a bone crushing hug, to say that he was sorry and to beg forgiveness. Try as he might, he couldn't get his limbs to move. He tried to speak to him but all that came out were a few grunts.

All he managed to succeed in was catching the attention of Gobber, who's solemn face rose when he spotted his former apprentice. Wisely, he kept his voice low in order to keep the other villagers from noticing when he happily called out to him, "Hiccup."

The boy turned his face from his the Chief and Stoick felt small tear fall down his face. Blast the devils that did this to him.

"Welcome back lad, good ta see ya." Gobber greeted. Hiccup felt his anger melt away when his gaze fell on the Blacksmith. There were only two humans that he knew that could feel comfortable with, and Gobber was one of them.

"Good to see you to. Keeping busy in the Forge? I hope I didn't leave too much work for you?"

"Nah, nothing ol' Gobber can't handle. Besides, got a new apprentice forced on me. He's nowhere near yer caliber though when it comes to tha' art."

Hiccup smiled at the compliment.

Gobber's face turned somber again, "Tell me ya aren't behind what's happinen here."

"This isn't me, what is all happening here?" Hiccup gestured to Stoick.

The Chief attempted once again to catch his son's attention and apologise, but all that came was a few grunts once again.

"Right you are Stoick." Gobber happily gave a thumbs up before turning to the lad beside him and whispering, "I 'ave no idea what he's saying."

Inwardly, Stoick rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, some creatures came to Berk a little while ago-"

"Six days to be exact."

Gobber thought a little before answering, "Yah, that'd sound about right. How'd you now tha'?"

"An educated guess."

Gobber shrugged, "So you know what they are then?"

"Speed Stingers. Fast, agile and loaded with a venom that can paralyze a full-grown Viking."

"Almost, took five of tha' little buggers to take him out." Gobber pointed to the Chief who started grunting again.

"Absolutely Stoick." Gobber turned to Hiccup again and whispered, "No idea." before continuing, "A whole pack of tha little guys came in and started wreaking havoc. They came at night and reigned terror and then were gone just like tha' come morning."

"Speed Stingers are nocturnal. They hunt at night, but burn so many calories while they're awake that they need to sleep during the day."

"Sure… We tried to keep tha village, but we lost so many warriors there that we had to retreat. We brought everybody down here and as much food as we could."

Hiccup nodded, "They'll likely have a cave somewhere or another that the sleep in during the day." Hiccup turned his gaze to the sky. They only had a few hours until night fall. "Think you can hold out one more night?"

"Most likely, not sure how many 'ill be still walkin though."

"I'll get them out of your hair. I just have to go get a friend first."

"You would do tha' Hiccup? After all this village has done ta ya?"

"If anybody is destroying this place it's me, not a pack of wild Speed Stingers." Hiccup turned to the top of the cliffs and whistled as Gobber gulped. A flash of black erupted from the trees and the Night Fury landed in the middle of the cove, startling everyone around them. Quickly, before any body could react, Hiccup jumped into the saddle.

Stoick could only watch, heartbroken as his son made to disappear from his life once again. It was at that moment that he realized he had feeling in the tips of his fingers again. Desperately he tried to reach out to his son, but he could only make the end of his hand twitch.

Hiccup and Gobber could hear Stoick making frantic noises but Hiccup paid him no mind. Instead he quickly told Gobber, "Johann's back at the village, I know he'd appreciate it if you sent someone to go get him. I'll be back by morning."

With that said, both boy and dragon took off into the sky.

Stoick watched as his son took off in utter disappointment and despair. This time, tears fell freely from his face in steady streams.

Gobber turned and saw his Chief's moist face. Quickly he placed his hook on Stoick's shoulder, "He'll be back. We'll make sure ya get a proper hello in tha mornin'."


	23. Chapter 23

**(A/N) Hey everybody, I'm back. Sorry this is being posted a little later than usual, but this chapter is longer than most so I hope that makes up for it.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **DeLostSoul: Thank you.**

 **Little NighFury17: Ya, I felt a little mean when I was writing that.**

 **Brenne: Lol, yep.**

 **Scarlet Lupin: Thank you.**

 **AvadaKedavara613: The Night Fury origin story isn't just another rabbit trail, It will actually help advance the plot, don't worry. Also, as for the Speed Stinger venom and the flightmare mist, they are different but similar. The Speed Stinger venom is described more as paralysis in the show, but it still freezes its victims. The main difference is that it makes the victim's skin turn pale and it lasts longer.**

 **Have fun reading everybody:)**

 **Chapter 23**

Hiccup was a little cold as he stood in and amongst the people of Berk. He was dressed in loose hanging cheep furs with a large hood hanging over his face. He had been in the cove for over three hours now and nobody had yet noticed him.

He had been eves dropping on some of the conversations, just to know what they were thinking.

"I heard Hiccup was coming back today."

"I heard he's behind tha little green devil attacks."

"I heard he's coming to wipe us out."

"Gobber said he's coming ta save us."

"Why would he do that?"

"What could tha' runt do against a pack of those wild beasts?"

These were just a few snippets of the gossip he had overheard about himself that day.

He was also interested in finding out who all had managed to make it though the night. Both the twins as well as Snotlout were up and about, but Fishlegs was stiff as a board. Snotlout was polishing his sword while the twins were going around and making a nuisance of themselves. They appeared to be making a fake battle scene with a few of the Speed Stinger's victims.

Gobber and Spitelout both appeared to be frozen stiff, but surprisingly, Stoick seemed to be out and about and was doing his best to organize the still standing Vikings for the coming night. He did notice however that the chief seemed to be a bit down. Why, he had no idea.

It was almost noon when he glanced to the top of the cove for about the hundredth time that day. He knew that Toothless and Speedy were both hidden in the shadows of the trees.

The little green Speed Stinger that Hiccup had kept around was only supposed to be kept at Outcast island until his leg had gotten better, but Speedy had quickly become one of Hiccup's favourites and had shown no inclination of wanting to leave. The dragon, though usually nocturnal, had fallen into Hiccup's habit of sleeping at night, usually curled right around Hiccup's sleeping from, much to the annoyance of Toothless.

Now standing at 6'5", Speedy was now far from his juvenile state. Where before, the little dragon could only freeze half of Snotlout, now he could immobilize a full-grown man with one sting. A fact the dragon had been very happy to show several dozing Outcasts.

Giving a nod towards the trees, Hiccup began walking towards a blazing fire in the center of the cove.

A lavender light shot out from the trees and plasma hit the fire pit with pin-point accuracy. Instantly the temperature in the cove rose a few degrees as the Vikings around him startled and lifted their eyes to the top of the cliffs. Using the distraction, Hiccup put on a mask of his own creation and walked straight to the fire, then into it.

The Vikings were all murmuring to themselves as they tried to figure out what their ex-heir was up to when a voice rose up above all the others.

"What? I'm not enough to catch your attention? Typical."

Instantly all eyes adverted their gaze to the fire pit as Hiccup walked out. His form still had flames licking his dragon hide cloak and obsidian mask made out of the scales of a Night Fury. With the mask sealing against his hood, he was completely immune to fire. Plus, he was finding that the scales were doing a good job at keeping some of the heat they had absorbed.

"Hiccup?" Stoick asked as Hiccup removed the mask and hood, revealing his face.

"Unless you know another."

"Ya! I know one, the runt of a litter of sheep born last year!" Snotlout called out, only to cower under the glare of the Chief.

Stoick turned his gaze back to his son, "Hiccup, I-"

"If I'm going to get rid of the Speed Stinger's for you, I'm going to need some volunteers." Hiccup turned to the small crowd of still standing Vikings, "Those who are willing to keep an open mind."

"I will-" Stoick started.

"No, you need to stay here. And frankly, I don't want you tagging along either." Hiccup replied.

"I'll go."

Hiccup turned and was surprised to see Snotlout of all people volunteering.

"If he goes so will we." The Ruffnutt put forth for both her and her twin.

Hiccup nodded, "Good. Anybody else?"

"Aye." Hiccup tuned to see one of Berk's better warriors, Hoark the Haggard, raise his hand."

"Alright, let's go." Hiccup turned and started walking to the exit of the cove.

"Hiccup! Wait!" Stoick called out, the young man just kept walking. "You need to hear me out!"

Hiccup felt a large hand land on his shoulder. Instantly, a knife was in his hand as he spun out of Stoick's grip. The Chief never even felt a jab of pain as the small blade dove into his side. The wound was far from being enough to kill him, but Stoick instantly felt numb from the Speed Stinger venom making its way through his body. He tried moving his limbs, but nothing would respond.

Vikings yelled in shock and made to defend their Chief, but were stopped when Hiccup shouted to them. "You come any closer and he dies!"

Hiccup turned his attention back to the Chief, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say. If I did, I would have asked." He whispered angrily in Stoick's ear. "I want so desperately to end you right here and now. It would be so easy." To emphasize his point, Hiccup engaged his claw and held it to the Chief's chest. There were shouts of protest from the crowd, but no one dared to make a move. "But that would be too easy and quick. Your death will be slow and painful." Hiccup finished before turning and shouting at the volunteers, "Come on! Unless you want to fight Speed Stingers by yourself!"

Quickly, Hiccup made his way to the exit of the cove and disappeared, leaving a heartbroken Stoick behind. The small group of volunteers swiftly made their way around Stoick and ran after the lad, intent on ending this once and for all.

o~0~O~0~o

"What are we even doing with this guy?" Tuffnutt asked his sister as the small group of volunteers followed Hiccup's footsteps. The teen had quickly disappeared into the snow-covered trees.

"Ya, nothing good happens when Hiccup is involved." Ruffnutt continued, "Like when he blew up the Chief's house."

"Actually, that was pretty cool."

"Ya, it was actually. But he did steal the book of dragons."

"But who cares about reading? Besides, there was another cool explosion there."

"Ya true." Ruffnutt conceded. "There was the time he cut off Snotlout's hand."

"Also awesome! Who knew that scrawny little Viking had that in him."

"Who had what in him?" Snotlout asked as he drew near the twins. Hoark was busy clearing a way through the bush in front of them.

"Who knew Hiccup had the ability to cut off your hand." Ruffnutt offered.

Snotlout scowled, "He got lucky."

"Again?" Tuffnutt questioned, "I mean that was the second time he beat you, or was it the third?"

"Yes, again! The kids got a lucky streak a mile wide."

"And that's why he's always saying the gods hate him." Ruffnutt jabbed.

"Whatever. Shut up Ruffnutt."

"Why did we ever even pick on him when he was younger?" Tuffnutt asked, "I mean, he's awesome. He rides a Night Fury, has sick battle scars and beat Snotlout in hand to hand combat."

Snotlout looked disgusted, "Dude, don't you realize that it was Hiccup who killed your parents?"

"Ya, there is that unfortunate item of business. Otherwise I would have really wanted to get to know him." Tuffnutt answered, suddenly becoming solemn.

"Ya, same here." Ruffnutt agreed.

"We'll your not getting to know that traitor."

"Why not, we are following his lead for now, aren't we?" Tuffnutt asked.

"There's a key word there, _For now._ "

"I hate to burst your bubble, but that's two words." Ruffnutt pointed out.

"That doesn't matter, what does matter is Hiccups going to show us where these Speed Stinger's are, how to defeat them, and then were going to kill both the Speed Stingers and Hiccup."

The twin's eyes widened, "You mean we're going to stab him in the back?" Ruffnutt asked.

"In a matter of speaking." Snotlout answered.

"I don't know who's worse, you or Hiccup."

o~0~O~0~o

"Hurry up!" Hiccup called out to those following him. He was making his way as fast as he could from the cove, intent on putting as much distance as possible between him and the village. No sooner had he said this when he heard the group behind him start to run.

Hiccup smiled inwardly to himself as he listened to his volunteers trudge through the bush like a rampaging yack. He had often used the forest as an escape to hide from his tormentors when he lived on Berk. He could make his way quickly through the trees making no more sound than a small mouse. He was certain he could disappear in a second if he wanted to.

Soon, Hiccup came across a clearing and stopped. Leaning against a snow-covered rock, he waited for the group to catch up, smirking at the sound of each crash that he heard. When the group finally caught up, he could see they were out of breath.

"So…" Snotlout panted, "What now?"

Hiccup let out a quick whistle. In seconds, Speedy was by his side. Instantly all four of the Vikings brought out their weapons to face the small dragon, earning a hiss from the Speed Stinger.

"Easy, this one is with me." Hiccup consoled them as he turned his attention to the Speed Stinger. Bringing out the throwing knife he had used on Stoick, Hiccup popped a small container from the hilt. Opening the lid and sliding a piece of hide over the top, he offered it to Speedy. The small dragon quickly stung the piece of hide and deposited his venom into the container. After closing venom up, he popped the container back into the hilt of his knife.

Turning back around, Hiccup could clearly see the Vikings were growing impatient.

"So, like I said, what now?" Snotlout, who had recovered by this point, asked again.

"Speed Stingers hunt at night and sleep during the day-"

"What about him?" Tuffnutt pointed to Speedy.

"He's the exception. Anyways, Speed Stingers prefer to sleep in caves. That's where you lot come in. I need you to search any cave you know of and signal me if you find them. I'll take care of the rest. Understood?"

The group nodded.

"Then go." Hiccup waved his arms at the group and they quickly ran off to do as they were told.

When the were gone, Hiccup called out to Toothless. The black dragon who had been stealthily following the group made his way out into the open.

 **"They're planning on killing you, you know. I think they said 'stab you in the back'"**

"I know. I'm counting on it."

 **"As long as you know what your doing."**

"Don't I always?"

 **"No."**

Hiccup laughed. "What do you think Toothless, shall we go for a flight?"

Toothless' head shot up and the dragon crooned happily at the suggestion. Smiling, Hiccup climbed up into the saddle and the two took off. Looking back to the ground, Hiccup saw Speedy running after them, intent on racing the two over land.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup amused himself by watching the volunteers make their way slowly from cave system to cave system from high up in the air. He smiled to himself, knowing that they were searching the completely wrong area. He had actually found the Speed Stingers the night before, he was just waiting until the sun was about to go down before he confronted them.

Looking to the sky and seeing they had about an hour of daylight left, he decided to let the volunteers in on the location. After he tipped them off, he directed Toothless and Speedy to a beach on Berk's east shore, where the cave the Speed Stingers called home was located. Once he arrived, he waited for the small group of Vikings to show up.

o~0~O~0~o

"So how is this going to work?" Ruffnutt asked the three other Vikings in the group, "I mean he's going to have a Night Fury by his side. I'm all for battle scars and everything, but I'm not suicidal."

"Ya have ta understand lass, we have the element of surprise on our side." Hoark answered. "tha Night Fury and tha boy believe were workin' together. If we position ourselves right and act fast enough, they'll never know what hit em."

"Ya, what he said." Snotlout agreed.

"So then, how do we position ourselves?"

"Snotlout will place himself ahead of Hiccup.. The twins will walk behind him and I'll place myself as close to tha Night Fury as I can. Snotlout, when you feel ready, distract tha lad while I'll place a well aimed slice to tha Night Fury's neck. Ruffnutt and Tuffnutt, when Snotlout has Hiccup's attention, you take a few swings at his back.

"Wait, I'm just a distraction?"

"No offence, but with only your left hand ta fight with, that's yer only use."

"What!"

"Cheer up Snotlout, at least that's better than useless." Ruffnutt jabbed.

"Hey!"

Hoark rolled his eyes, "Is everybody clear?"

The twins nodded. Reluctantly, Snotlout followed their example.

"Good."

o~0~O~0~o

"Alright, you all ready for this?" Hiccup asked.

The group of 5 people and two dragons stood on the beach at the entrance to the cave. There was less than 15 minutes of daylight left and Hiccup knew the Speed Stingers would be growing restless.

"You bet I am." Snotlout confidently answered and started making his way inside the cave.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah!" Hiccup cautioned.

"What?"

"You have no idea what your getting yourself into here."

"There sleeping dragons, what harm can they do?"

"Just let me handle this, please."

"Fine, but let's get going, suns almost down" Snotlout finished before turning around and walking into the cave again. Rolling his eyes, Hiccup followed with Toothless by his right side and Speedy on his left. As he walked, he noticed Hoark walking on Toothless' other side and the twins were following him. Absentmindedly, he began to twirl one of his knives around in his left hand.

They had barely made it 20 steps into the cave when Hiccup spotted the sleeping forms of the Speed Stingers. He didn't have time to spot the Alpha before he heard a yell. Turning his attention to the source, he spotted Snotlout charging him with a sword raised in his hand.

Hiccup smiled, he had been expecting some sort of backstab, so he didn't hesitate when he threw the knife. It landed in Snotlout's shoulder and instantly he was frozen.

Toothless, who had been wary since the beginning, extended his wing the second he heard Snotlout shout out. Hoark was thrown several feet and slammed against the wall of the cave. His head hit the stone surface and he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

With the immediate threat neutralized for now, the dragon turned his attention to the twins and snarled. The twins, seeing their support had been taken out, instantly froze and dropped their weapons.

Hearing the clatter of metal against stone, Hiccup turned to see the twins disarmed with their hands in the air.

"Thanks bud."

 **"Don't mention it. What do we do with them now?"**

He turned his attention briefly to Toothless, "Keep an eye on them, I'll handle this." The dragon grunted in answer and turned his attention back to the twins, who were attempting to sneak off. With the dragon's glare back on them, they threw their hands back up in the air.

A groan sounded from near the cave wall. Unsteadily, Hoark rose to his feet.

"Hoark!"

The man brought his eyes up as Hiccup unsheathed his sword.

"You wanted to fight? It's just you and me. The Night Fury won't interfere. You can either accept defeat and leave, or you can die. Its your choice.

Hoark quickly scanned the area next to him for his weapon. Spotting his axe a few feet away, he lunged for it. After regaining his footing, he turned to face his opponent, only to feel a sharp pain in his right shoulder.

He yelped and yanked the throwing knife out of his shoulder. His eyes narrowed at the sight, shouldn't he be paralyzed right now? Shaking the thought from his mind, he threw the knife away and set his full attention on the teen in front of him.

"I'll take that as a duel." Hiccup smirked before charging.

Metal clanged against metal as Hoark blocked Hiccup's sword with his axe. Not letting the more experienced warrior get a chance at offence, Hiccup quickly swung his sword down low, only for it to be parried away. Before Hoark could recover, Hiccup quickly swung around and used his momentum to aim a strong strike at his opponent's skull.

Hoark deflected the blow over his head and used Hiccup's own momentum to place him off balance. He was left with a perfect opening at which to swing and took it. Reacting quickly, Hiccup brought his arm up to let the Nightshade steel arm guard deflect the blow, which only sent him more off balance.

Hiccup found himself on the floor of the cave and looked up to see Hoark aiming a powerful blow at him. Two things saved him, the lightning fast reflexes Hiccup had been forced to develop while flying Toothless at high speeds, and the wave of dizziness that overcame his attacker.

Hiccup winced as the heavy axe split the stone where seconds before, his head had been. Hoark shook his head, trying to rid himself of the spell while Hiccup regained his footing.

Hiccup launched another attack at his opponent and Hoark only barely managed to block it. As the fight went on, Hoark knew something was seriously wrong. He was getting more and more dizzy spells and his breath was becoming laboured. Hiccup get jabbing his sword through his defences and slicing open small cuts. Never enough to kill him, but just enough to sting. He realized the only reason he hadn't been killed yet was because Hiccup was toying with him. That was good, the boy's guard was down.

Reaching down onto himself for every ounce of strength he had, Hoark roared and brought a devastating blow down on his opponent. Blood hit the stone floor and for a moment, Hoark was elated, but only until he realized the blood on the floor was not Hiccup's, but his own.

His axe was still embedded in the rock as Hoark began coughing up blood. In a matter of moments, it was pouring out of his mouth, and nose in torrents as he fell to his knees and the small cuts that Hiccup had administered to his prey were also leaking precious blood at a concerning rate.

He looked up into Hiccup's uncaring eyes, "What did ya do to me?" He rasped.

"I figured, since I live with the dragons, I may as well fight like them. The knife was filled with Nadder poison, a natural blood thinner. The faster your heart was beating, the faster the venom travelled through your body. You were dead from the moment you picked up your axe."

Hoark desperately tried to stand, but found he didn't have the energy and fell back to his hands and knees. "Ya did it, ya won. Now finish me off."

"No."

"What?

"I said no." Hiccup replied as he turned his back on the Viking.

Hoark would have protested, desiring an honourable death, but he found he didn't have the energy. Slowly, he slumped to his side and rolled on his back, where he would end up choking on his own blood a few minutes later.

A hiss sounded from the reassesses of the cave, even as Hoark was still gargling his life away. The Speed Stingers had woken up.

Turning his attention from the dying Viking, Hiccup slowly began approaching the Alpha with his hand empty and stretched out toward it. It didn't work the first time, so he doubted it would now, but he had to be sure.

The Speed Stinger struck and Hiccup recoiled in pain. "Ow!" Good thing he had developed an anti-venom from Speedy's venom which he had injected both himself and Toothless with. "Alright, that plan's a no-go. Speedy!"

A green blur shot from the midst of the Speed Stingers, stinging several members of the pack, including the Alpha. Instantly, many of the members were frozen and Toothless lunged for the Alpha, picking him up in his mouth.

The pack, furious that their leader was at the mercy of these two intruders, attacked all at once. The twins ran for cover, while Toothless and Hiccup reconnected with each other and flew out the mouth of the cave with the pack of Speed Stingers following. Soon, they were out over the ice and racing away from Berk.

When they were far enough out to Sea, the deposited the Alpha onto the ice. As he predicted, the Speed Stingers refused to leave their Alpha and remained where they were on the ice.

Smiling Hiccup and Toothless turned around to destroy the ice bridge. The Speed Stinger's would be able to return to any of the islands further on down the chain, but they would never be able to get back to Berk.

It didn't take long to return to the cave. Speedy was still there, as well as a frozen Snotlout, a dead Hoark and a set of cowering twins. Speedy was keeping them company and they didn't dare move.

"Nice dragon." Tuffnutt called as he raised a shaky hand to the Speed Stinger.

"It takes a lot to earn a dragon's trust." Hiccup called out, making both of the twins jump. "Especially a Speed Stinger's."

"What are you going to do to us?" Ruffnutt asked as Hiccup crossed the cave to where the rest of the paralyzed Speed Stingers lay and started shoving them on Toothless' back.

"Nothing. I have a message for you to give to Stoick. Tell him that today was a test, and Berk failed, as I knew it would. I didn't have to bring any of you, I could have easily gotten rid of the Speed Stingers on my own. But, I figured I'd give you all a second chance to prove your real nature. And that you did."

After the remaining Speed Stingers were secured, Hiccup mounted Toothless while not sparing a second glance back to the twins. Speedy quickly jumped on the dragon's back and they took off, leaving the twins, Snotlout and the rest of Berk far behind him.

o~0~O~0~o

It had been three days since the Speed Stingers had left Berk and things were finally starting to return to normal. Homes had been shoveled out, warmed up and furniture had been re-arranged. The forge was pumping black smoke out of its chimney once again, people were hard at work and the Great Hall was full of boisterous laughter once again.

The only exception was in the back corner, where the Chief usually slept. There Stoick the Vast sat facing Johann, Snotlout and the twins.

"You four have had the most contact with my son since he left to go live with tha dragons. I want your personal opinion as ta how he's doin."

"He looks pretty healthy ta me." Johann pointed out.

"Umm… terrifying." Ruffnutt suggested.

"How about insane." Tuffnutt continued.

"That too." Johann agreed, "When he was with me, tha lad almost seemed like he was conversin with his dragon."

"He did that with us too." Ruffnutt offered.

"Face it Chief, he's gone completely loco." Tuffnutt agreed while twirling his finger around his ear.

Stoick narrowed his eyes. That was saying something if the twins were calling someone insane, but he couldn't help but wonder. Hiccup had spent so long with the dragons it may be possible. Turning his mind from that thought, his gaze swept over to Snotlout. "What do ya think of him?"

"He loves to appear to be powerful, but he's not. He claims to be good at fighting, and people hold that over me because I lost my hand to him. But he fights without honour. He doesn't use skill, he uses superior weapons, tricks and luck to overcome an opponent. He prefers to let his dragons do most of his dirty work. I think we should be less worried about useless and concentrate on the dragon scourge again. Without them, he is nothing."


	24. Chapter 24

**(A/N) Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long since the last time I posted. I've been really busy with assignments these past several weeks and didn't have time to finish this chapter. But here it is and it's a long one so I hope that makes up for my absence.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **MMM: Ya, Hoark is definitely dead.**

 **Little NightFury17: There should be a new copy of the chapter up with typos fixed. Unfortunately, I've never been a fan of Pokémon. I've actually only played it once and somehow managed o get in a battle where all I could do was dodge attacks in a never ending loop.**

 **Grimbot: Exactly.**

 **Guest: The actual quote from Friedrich Nietzsche is "Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." This came from the guys who also said "You have your way, I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist." Friedrich Nietzsche was an atheist that had no moral background from which to base his thinking. What right then does he have to call something an abyss? What seems wrong to him could seem perfectly ok to someone else. It's called survival of the fittest. While saying that, I am a Christian, and therefore my moral backing is in the Bible, God's word and not what people say is right and wrong. The Bible wrote to point people in the right direction through the mistakes and wrong doings of those before us. There are some very evil men in the Bible, like Saul before his conversion or King Herod. Yet it doesn't shy away from writing about them, and I wont shy away from writing about an evil Hiccup.**

 **newke: Snotlout has his place. You'll see what happens to him. As for the girls, I'm not going to write like that. It's just not something I'm comfortable with.**

 **Brenne: Stoick doesn't really know what's going on. All he can do is speculate. As for Snotlout… yep.**

 **Scarlet Lupin: Don't worry, I'm going to keep it in, and sorry I didn't get this out sooner.**

 **NOnormal99: Heather will make an appearance, don't you worry. It just wont be for a while yet. And I'm going to stick with Hiccstrid, for the little this story will focus on love relationships. As for Hiccup demanding gold, it will be a plot point later on. Also, I'm going to stay away from magic.**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you.**

 **AvadaKedavra613: By letting the Berkians tag along, he gave them a second chance at creating peace with the dragons without telling them, which they blew as he knew they would.**

 **lego master 332: Thank you.**

 **Chakor Reulle: Thank you, and your patience has been rewarded.**

 **Chapter 24**

Snoggletog was fast approaching, which meant Hiccup and Toothless were hard at work taking a census of the dragon population before the migration. A new one would be taken when the dragons returned. This would allow the pair to know how many babies had been born that year and therefore how much fish each island would be needing to support the young. Technically, the dragons could easily get along on their own and for the most part, they would, but Hiccup wanted to be prepared in case a parent fell ill, was killed, or in a worst-case scenario, a famine hit.

The pair was on their way to the 32nd of the 34 islands the dragons had made their homes on. So far, they had tallied 32 Speed Stingers, 59 Monstrous Nightmares, 46 Whispering Deaths, 98 Zipplebacks, 111 Deadly Nadders, 137 Gronckles, a staggering 329 Terrible terrors and 22 dragons of various other species, including a few Hobblegunts, Typhoomerangs, a Stormcutter and a rather large and interesting dragon that had hatched in last year's Whispering Death clutch that he had named the Screaming Death. With only three islands left to go, Hiccup was estimating that there were just over 900 dragons inside the archipelago.

As the two flew on towards the next island in content silence, Hiccup glanced up at the sun.

"Looks like there's only 2 hours of sunlight left bud, what do you say we make this our last stop for the day and begin again tomorrow, huh?"

 **"What's the matter, getting tired?"** Toothless teased.

"What? No! Haha, I could outlast you any day of the week."

 **"Sure…"**

"You know it's true."

 **"Then how come I'm not the one suggesting we stop for the day?"**

"There's a perfectly good reason why I'm suggesting we stop. It's hard to count dragons in the dark."

 **"They breath fire, I think we could make do."**

"Whatever, have you ever heard about taking a break to have some fun?"

 **"What? Stop for fun? You and me? Never."**

"Oh, that's the way you want to play it then?" Hiccup replied as he shifted his metal leg and closed Toothless' tail fin, sending the two of them over in a dive. "YEAH BABY!" He cried as he raised his arms against the wind.

Putting their mock argument behind them, Toothless gladly took the opportunity to have a little fun and warbled with joy, happily letting his tongue loll out in the wind. All too soon, the ocean came up to meet them and they were forced to pull out of their dive with only inches to spare between them and the water. Sea mist sprayed them both as they left a large wake in their trail.

"What do you say bud? Should we try this again?"

Toothless rolled his eyes, **"It's your funeral."**

"Ha, ha, very funny."

Shifting the tail fin once again, the pair were soon climbing higher and higher, until they were up amongst the clouds. Locking the tail fin up, Hiccup detached himself from the saddle and let himself fall off his dragon's back. Toothless quickly folded his wings and followed his rider's plummet.

Both rider and dragon loved the sensation of free falling and they each basked in the pure speed they were attaining. Adrenalin was at it's height when Hiccup brought his arms to his ankles and hooked his wrists around two newly added loops on his pants. He quickly pulled his arms up, leaving two "wings" made out of the hide of Toothless' rival.

His fall suddenly turned into a controlled glide over the sea. Quickly bringing an arm in to press a button on his chest, a vertical stabilizer wing popped out from his back. Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Hiccup smiled at Toothless, who was gliding right behind him. The dragon returned his smile with his own toothless grin and a warble.

Turning his attention forward again, Hiccup cried out with excitement, "THIS IS AMAZING!" as they passed through a low flying cloud, only to spot a sea stack right in front of him when he exited, "No longer amazing. TOOTHLESS!"

The dragon let out an alarmed cry and frantically began to pump his wings faster in an effort to catch up to his rider. At the last second, the dragon caught the boy in his wings as he fired a plasma blast at the rock, blowing open a hole wide enough for the two to fall through. The two landed hard on a nearby island and ground to a halt.

"Huh, huh, wow. I think we made it." Hiccup commented as he checked Toothless and himself over for injuries. Fortunately, they both seemed to have escaped unharmed.

Toothless swatted his tail at Hiccup's head. "Ow!"

 **"No duh, what clued you in?"** Toothless sarcastically retorted.

Hiccup ignored the dragon's comment and turned to look at the sea stack they had just made their way through and was now crumbling into the ocean, "Woah, that was exhilarating. I need to catch my breath after that."

 **"That speaks for one of us."**

"Not this again." Hiccup groaned, "Unfortunately, play times over. Time to get to work."

He knew from experience, that the dragons on the island would be quite close to each other and would have formed a pack. Sure enough, as he got close to where the dragons were resting, a large Monstrous Nightmare, the obvious leader of the small group approached with a warning growl, only to quickly perform a draconic bow when he realized who had arrived.

The two quickly began to tally up the dragons living on the island. Within an hour, they had a count of 12 Zipplebacks, 6 Monstrous Nightmares, 7 Deadly Nadders and 4 Gronkles, brining the total tally of dragon up to 863, with two more islands left to check.

Finishing up their work, the two Alphas just sat and watched the dragons go about their daily habits. It was nice to see them working together as a family. He knew that when the hatchlings arrived, every single one of the would have each other's backs and pitch in to help the new born's thrive.

Of course, not everything could be perfect. The sound of growling dragons drew Hiccup's attention and he turned to see two Zipplebacks with wings outstretched in a threatening stance and heads snapping at the other. He made no move to intercede however, realising that the two males were just vying for the attention of a couple nearby females.

He watched, enthralled as the two dragons entered in a sort of dance, with heads jumping in for a quick snap at another at just the right time before jerking back to avoid the jaws of the other.

"You know, if we head up north, that could be you." Hiccup pointed out to Toothless.

 **"Oh, not this again. For the last time, you're my family, not them."**

"I know, I know. But wouldn't it be nice to actually have a mate and hatchlings to call your own?"

 **"Are you sure you just don't want to satisfy your curiosity?"**

"What me? Curious? No way."

 **"Sure…"**

"Fine, maybe just a little, but that's not the real reason why I want you to go."

 **"Oh, and what reason would that be then."**

Hiccup turned his gaze to the bickering dragons in front of them, "Look at them, even though they appear to be fighting right now, I know they think the world of each other. They'll have each other's backs no matter what. There is nothing in the world I would have given to have something like that back on Berk. It's too late for me with my own kind, I don't want to see you waste a chance with yours."

Toothless was silent for quite a while, thinking over his rider's words. Finally, he spoke. **"What about them?"** Toothless pointed out the bickering dragons. **"They need a leader."**

"Did the Red Death ever look after them during the migration?"

 **"No…"**

"They'll be fine, you'll see."

 **Fine then, we'll go. Just to satisfy your curiosity."**

Hiccup smiled, "Whatever you say bud."

He turned his attention once again to the squabbling Zipplebacks and spotted one release it's flammable gas while it's other head lit it with it's spark. Quickly, he stood up with excitement, "That's it!"

 **"What is?"** A startled Toothless asked.

"A dragon's spark, that's what's different!"

 **"Huh? What are we talking about?"**

"Gather up a few Zipplebacks and lets head home."

 **"What? Why?"**

"I want to try something, lets hurry, before the sun goes down!"

o~0~O~0~o

Astrid was tired. She and Quicksand were skimming the waves over the ocean, looking for a place to land and sleep. They had been flying all last night and through the day looking for Hiccup and a place to spend the next day sleeping at, both of which had been unsuccessful.

Astrid glanced down at her companion's scales. They rarely travelled during the day because the Sand Wraith burned easily in the sun's rays. Already they were turning a shade of red and she knew the dragon's scales would be sore for the next few days. That and she had figured that with Toothless being a Night Fury, the two would most likely fly at Night in order to blend in. That made looking for him harder, but she was banking on the fact that he would find her first and come to investigate.

During her travels, she had mostly stayed away from human villages in an effort to prevent Quicksand from being killed. She had actually only been to one settlement since she had left her friends, the Berserkers. When Winter started coming closer, she had been forced to trade for warmer clothes using some meat she and Quicksand had hunted. The Berserkers had a rather large settlement and as such, had a lot of traders coming to and from the island. As a result, she had managed to hide herself in the last trading rush before the ice set in.

She had been tempted to ask about Hiccup while she was there, but that would have drawn too much attention to herself. And besides, the big news there at the time had been about the disappearance of Oswald the Agreeable and the rise to Chiefdom of Dagur the Deranged. After she had heard that she had gotten out of there as quickly as she could.

She let out a yawn, the sun was going down… again. They had travelled far and as such, neither had any idea where they were, but Quicksand seemed to have an internal compass leading them somewhere and the few dragons she had seen were heading the same direction, so Astrid had let him lead the way the night before. If all the dragons were gathering together she might be able to locate Hiccup.

They had ended up on an island with trees that had strange rocks glowing in them, and after a quick examination of the island, they had gone to sleep… for about a half hour. The next thing they knew, extremely territorial Changewings were chasing them away.

They had flown the whole day without finding another bit of land and now, as the sun was sinking below the horizon, a fog bank was rolling in.

"Well this is just great." Astrid groaned. Quicksand grunted in response and the two continued flying. It wasn't long before the sound of voices reached Astrid's ears.

"What the?" Astrid asked herself while preparing herself for the worst.

A large wooden ship materialized out of the mist to their right, coming straight at them. She caught sight of a man dressed in iron armour and a strange helmet standing proudly at the bow. Then she realized he had caught sight of her as well.

"δράκων!" The man shouted.

Several other men on the ship turned their gaze toward her.

"τοξότε! θα πάρει κάτω!"

Before the dragon rider and the Sand Wraith could react, several of the men on the ship had grabbed bows and were aiming them directly at the two.

"Quicksand, lets get out of here." Astrid urged. Quicksand growled his agreement and started to pump his wings faster as the first volley of arrows came their way. Three of the arrows flew straight and true at the pair. Reacting fast, Astrid managed to grab one right out of the air and deflect another with arm. The third however made its way towards the Sand Wraith's vital organs and in order to save the dragon's life, she did the only thing she could.

Astrid yelled out in pain as the arrow hit her leg and sunk in deep. It would be difficult to get the weapon out and she would have a slight limp for a while, but she had been through worse.

More ships began manifesting themselves before the pair and soon the were weaving in and among ship masts while dodging arrows, each little movement bringing a whimper of pain from the young woman.

She leaned back and Quicksand followed her lead, soaring up into the mists of the fog. Soon, she disappeared into the mist, leaving an exited armada below.

o~0~O~0~o

Titus Camilius Encratis stood proud on the lead ship of his armada. Born to a wealthy Roman family, he had joined the army when he came of age and had quickly risen in the ranks. As it was, he had managed to become the Legion Legate, or first in command of his Legion, by the age of 32.

He was on his way back home from a successful campaign against the Viking Tribe known as the Lava Louts. They had came, saw and conquered, left a cohort of men to set up an outpost in the name of Emperor Nero and left with the spoils of war. Though the Lava Louts didn't have much in the way of gold or silver, the Chief claiming they had been robbed recently, they did have lots of men, woman and children who could serve as excellent slaves back on the mainland.

The best part was, it was still winter, a time when making safe harbour was next to impossible, which meant there was very little sea travel. It would be spring before the Vikings found out what had happened and by that point, they would have returned, built a well defended outpost and have a starting point for a campaign against the Vikings. Within two years, the archipelago would be Rome's and Titus would be named governor over the lands.

All was well in his world when he spotted wings flapping in the fog around him. His eyes widened in excitement as he called out "Dragon!" Immediately, the men on his ship turned their attention to him as he called out "Archers! Take it down!

He smiled as the men around him sprang into action to kill the beast. Several arrows flew through the air and he felt a sense of satisfaction when he heard a cry of pain… it sounded almost human though. He took a closer look at the fleeing figure and was surprised to see a woman was indeed riding the demon.

'How is that possible?' he thought to himself as the dragon and the rider rose up into the sky and disappeared into the mist. He thought about it some more, the Emperor would be interested to know that there were dragon riders in this archipelago. Nero would work quickly to squash this new threat before it became a nuisance.

The more Titus thought about it, the more exited he became about giving the news. Imagine if there were Romans on the backs of dragons! He might even get a promotion. Imperial Legate Titus Camilius Encratis, first in command of two or more Legions. He liked the sound of that.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup hoped beyond hope that this would work. He currently had nine Zipplebacks clustered around a single metal bowl filled with fire juice on top of Dragon's Volcano. It had taken a bit of work to find something that would conduct a dragon's spark, but after a little bit of trial and error, he had found that copper wire seemed to do the trick. He currently had a wire attached to the spark of each dragon that would transmit the energy above the metal bowl. The energy would then bridge a small gap to the edges of the bowl and spark the fire juice. As it stood, he only had one spark connected to the bowl. If the test was successful, he would put the fire out and then up the power.

"Alright, show time."

 **"Lets just hope this doesn't blow up in your face… again."** Toothless, who was standing beside him growled.

"Ya, ya, laugh it up bud. I'm taking precautions this time. Were outside and standing 20 feet away from the bowl, see? What could happen?"

 **"With you, anything."**

"Whatever." He turned his attention to the Zippleback connected to the bowl. "Now."

The Zippleback let loose a spark that travelled to the bowl and lit its contents. Instantly the fluid erupted in a bright purple flame that was at least twice as high as any that Hiccup had lit himself.

"YES! IT WORKS!" Hiccup cried out as he pumped his fists in the air.

Toothless cocked his head in curiosity, **"How'd you know that would work?"**

Hiccup turned to his friend, "To be honest, I didn't. I just figured that when I light it, it's a second-long spark. When dragon's light their fire, it's some kind of pure energy that comes from within. That's the difference."

 **"Makes sense… your planning something, I can see it in your eye. What's going on? Whenever you smile like that it usually means trouble."**

"I have an idea, lets see how powerful we can make this first though." Grabbing some dirt, Hiccup snuffed out the flames, which were also hotter than any he had created, and refilled the bowl. He then grabbed four more copper wires and attached them to the bowl. After taking a step back, he turned his attention to the five Zipplebacks, "Ok, lets make this happen."

The Zipplebacks each let loose their spark and this time, instead of bursting forth in a flame, a small, but powerful explosion ripped across the top the hill, forcing Hiccup to shield himself from the blast.

"Wow, that was something."

 **"What was that I said about it blowing up in your face?"**

"I was back far enough, I'm fine."

 **"Look behind you."**

Hiccup glanced back to see that a small part of the metal bowl he had crafted for this test had embedded itself in a rock about 15 feet from where he stood. "Point taken, looks like were upgrading to Gronckle Iron."

Two hours later, Hiccup had a new bowl crafted and he was ready to try all nine Zipplebacks at once. After hiding behind a large rock about 40 feet from the bowl, he was just about to give the signal for the Zipplebacks to commence when Toothless stopped him. "What?"

 **"Just hold on a second."** Hiccup could see something was hiding beneath the dragon's wings, but he couldn't tell what it was. He watched as the dragon erected something where the two had been standing during the previous two tests. He walked up to see that Toothless had stood a blackened piece of wood with a grimace etched on the top, right where he had been standing.

"Ok wise guy, can we start the test now?" Hiccup chuckled.

 **"Sure, go ahead."**

Walking back to behind the rock, Hiccup gave the signal to the Zipplebacks. This time the explosion was large. It easily engulfed the 20-foot gap where Hiccup had been standing during the previous explosions. When the dust settled, Hiccup took in the after math. The log was lying two feet from rock and engulfed in flames.

 **"See, it blew up in your face… again."**

"Then why am I still standing?" Hiccup asked as he started walking up to the epicenter.

The dragon glanced back to the log, **"But you're not."**

"Whatever, I still got the results I wanted. I'm happy."

 **"Are you going to let me in on what you're planning?"**

Hiccup smiled as they reached the explosion's center, the Gronkle Iron bowl was still in one piece. "I'll do you one better, I'll show you what I'm planning."

o~0~O~0~o

Astrid had made a temporary bandage to stop the bleeding until they got to land. It had taken an hour, but they had finally managed to reach solid ground and now the girl was busy trying to remove the arrow from her leg. Grabbing the shaft with her hand, she grunted in pain as she yanked it out. Thankfully it had missed her artery, so she would live. She just had to make sure no bits of the arrow had broken off and stuck in her flesh to cause infection later. After digging around with a dagger for a bit, she concluded she was indeed safe and proceeded to stitch herself up. After securely wrapping a clean bandage around the wound, she turned her mind to the arrow.

Its tip was log and thin with a ridge down the middle. It was attached to the shaft by a slot that the shaft slid into. The shaft itself was thin, yet strong. It was finely crafted.

The ship it had come from was a large craft, obviously designed for sea travel over great distances with one sail in the center and another on the bow. The bow itself had a spear like shaft in the water obviously designed for smashing enemy ships to pieces. Two eyes had been painted on the front and a dragon like tail had been mounted on the stern. Everything about the altercation said Roman.

At least they had been heading south, far away from the Archipelago. Her home would be safe.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup had pretty much locked himself away for a week in his forge to work on his latest project, only leaving out of necessity and once when he made his way to the Outcast's alchemist in search of a material that could hold a dragon's charge. He had offered the old man a sample of some of the fire juice he had been manufacturing and the Alchemist had gotten right to work. Three days later, the old man had come back with a shiny silver metal he had named lithium.

A small redesign later, and after a lot of work pounding on metal and assembling sophisticated parts, Hiccup's new weapon was finished, he just needed something to test it on. That had been the easy part. Vikings love a good fight, especially between skilled opponents, which was why had had challenged Eid to a duel with high stakes. 200 lbs in gold was on the table, winner takes all.

The Outcast's arena had been set up with several obstacles in the form of walls, barricades, high platforms and had several extra weapons stashed around the place to make the fight interesting. Pretty much the whole village had shown up to watch the fight. They were eager to see why the boy thought he stood a chance against their greatest warrior.

Hiccup stood below the crowd waiting for the fight to begin. He smiled coyly to himself as heard a pair of Vikings making bets on the outcome of the fight. Most were about what injuries he would come out of the arena with. They had no idea what he was capable of.

"Oy!" The sound of a new voice caught his attention as Alvin the Treacherous entered the arena, immediately the Vikings quieted down. "I hope ya all aint weak a heart. Yer all 'bout ta see a boy cut down before yer very eyes."

A chorus of quite laughter rang from the crowd.

"Now, this is a battle to the yield. There is only one rule, anyything goes, even a killing blow if the opponent does not yield. Understood?"

Hiccup glanced over to the other side of the arena where Eid stood and saw him give a nod, which he returned.

"Are tha combatants ready? FIGHT!" Alvin roared as he stepped through the entrance of the arena to get out of the way.

Hiccup took a second to study his opponent. The man wore traditional Outcast armour, a chainmail vest with small plates attached to offer better protection and a pair of metal shoulder guards with spikes. Hiccup smirked as Eid unsheathed his two weapons, a pair of short swords he new his teacher trained with and cared for daily. The two weapons were crafted by skilled tradesmen down south and as such, the were some of the finest swords on the island.

In response, Hiccup drew his own newly crafted sword and held it in a ready position. He could see Eid studying it carefully. The edges of the blade and hilt had been formed out of a single piece of Nightshade Steel with the center of the weapon being forged with Night Fury scales. The hilt had been decorated interictally and the grip was wrapped with brown leather. The pommel had been covered with Gronkle Iron and polished until it gleamed in the sunlight.

The blade was where the weapon differed from the traditional sword. A hollow tube of dragon scales ran down the center of the blade, Nightshade steel fusing with the tube and tapered off to a sharp edge on each side. The tip of the blade ended in two separate points that extended past the end of the tube. The weapon looked downright deadly and he could see Eid wasn't going to take any chances.

Eid only wasted a second studying him before he charged toward him with one raised to attack and the other ready to defend. Hiccup stood his ground and prepared himself for his teacher's charge. When Eid was less than 10 feet away, Hiccup pressed a button on the hilt of his sword. The crowd gasped and Hiccup smiled to himself when he spotted Eid's confident expression falter a little as purple flames burst forth along his blade.

Taking a step forward, Hiccup swung his sword out at his trainer. Though he was still recovering from the shock of the flaming sword, Eid still managed bring both of his swords up to deflect the blow. He was flabbergasted to see the sword cut straight through his first blade and halfway through the second before loosing momentum as the crowd recovered from the shock and began screaming at the competitors, a second round of bets passing through the crowd.

After yanking his sword free from his teacher's blade, Hiccup quickly brought his sword up to deflect a quick swipe aimed at his head. Eid's blade, already weekend from Hiccup's first attack, snapped in half at the impact.

Though now weaponless, Eid knew he still had a chance. Opting for a strategic withdrawal, he took off, with Hiccup slowly staking after his prey. Eid knew a normal sword would be useless against his opponent's weapon. He needed either a ranged weapon or a hammer, which should be thick enough to absorb a few blows from that wretched sword. HE WOULD NOT LOOSE THIS FIGHT!

Quickly leaping up on a nearby platform, Eid jumped off and threw his weight against the top of a wall, sending it tumbling to the ground and throwing up a thick cloud of dust for him to hide in. Quickly he began searching for a weapon and found an axe nearby as the dust began to clear. He spotted his opponent hanging back about 10 feet from the veil of dust, waiting for him to make an appearance.

Taking the opportunity, Eid quickly threw the axe with precision accuracy at his opponent. Spotting the projectile coming at him, Hiccup dodged out of the way, the blade of the axe coming within a hair's breath of cutting through his sleeve. Turing his attention to the source of the throw, Hiccup caught a quick glimpse of Eid taking cover behind a wall with a hammer in his hands.

With a grin etched on his face, Hiccup raised his sword towards the wall and pressed a second button on the hilt. A shriek began building near the hilt of the sword and a white light could be seen growing brighter near the base of the blade. When Hiccup released the button, a large plasma blast shot forth from the tube and travelled quick as lightning towards the wall Eid was hiding behind.

The blast hit the wall with tremendous force, splintering it in several places and knocking the bulk of it directly on Eid's head, a pained yell coming from the man. Walking up towards the destruction, Hiccup could plainly see that the man was pinned and bleeding in several places.

"Do you yield?" Hiccup asked.

Eid responded by coughing up a lungful of blood, "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice."

Turning to the crowd, Hiccup raised his flaming sword in victory as the crowd cheered. Many of them had lost some money, but they had all enjoyed the fight. Hiccup sheathed his sword, snuffing out the flame, turned and started walking towards the exit as several young men rushed in to free Eid from the wreckage and take him to the healer.

After grabbing the gold he had earned, Hiccup avoided anybody he could and made his way to Dragon's Volcano where he met Toothless.

 **"How'd it go?"**

Hiccup smiled, "It was a rousing success."

 **(A/N) Just a quick disclaimer before people yell at me for giving Hiccup electricity and Lithium batteries, this is as far as he will get with electricity. There will be no machines or anything like that running off of electricity in future chapters, it's just what sparks the fire juice. Also, I have no idea if chemistry actually works like that, but this is what I'm going with. It's fictional science.**


	25. Chapter 25

**(A/n) Hey guys, back with another chapter. I must say, loved the reviews I got last chapter, they had me laughing so hard. I think I'm going to do a one shot based off a few of them. If any of you have any questions regarding something technical in this story, feel free to ask, I might include them in the one shot. Also, I have a cover photo made for this story now that I will post next week. It looks amazing and I can't wait to show it to all of you so stay tuned.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Guest 1: I already addressed this in my guest reviews for chapter 21. The one marked guest 1.**

 **newke: Good.**

 **THE Hobbit: Yes they will.**

 **Zela Night: Thank you.**

 **Brenne: It will be interesting to find out.**

 **Little NightFury17: Ya, I was thinking about inferno and I was just like, how can I make this better. And thanks btw.**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you, but I'm staying away from magic for this story.**

 **Windrider340: This had me laughing so hard and inspired a one shot that will be coming soon. Thank you very much.**

 **AvadaKendavra613: Another review that had me laughing. Thank you for that. Inferno wont be making an actual appearance in this fic. I'll probably go into more detail later in the one shot, but essentially, Nightshade steel is Gronkle Iron, only black. It is stronger than regular steel and is able to cut right through it. Fire Juice coats the blade in the same way that the Speed Stinger and Nadder venom coat Hiccup's throwing knives, only it uses pressure instead of centrifugal force. When the fire juice is ignited using electricity stored in a lithium battery, it turns to plasma. When a large amount of fire juice is subjected to a stronger electrical pulse, it blows up and shoots through a tube of dragon scales reinforced with Nightshade steel in the center of the blade like a cannon. As for the Night Furies, you'll have to read this chapter to find out.**

 **Chapter 25**

"Dad!"

Kaskae **[1]** , Chief of the Tuuluuwaq'Atka **[2]** , a tribe of Inuit nomads, looked up to see a young man, his 15-year-old son Kappiataitok **[3]** , race into their home. Kaskae frowned, his son was slightly out of breath, something must be up.

"What is it Kappiataitok?" He asked.

"A stranger was sighted walking towards us, and there's a dragon following him!"

Kaskae searched his mind for anything that might identify the stranger. He knew of only one man outside the tribe who was unafraid of the dragons. "Does he wear a black cloak?" He inquired.

"Yes, he does. Some of the men said it almost looked like it was made of dragon skin."

The Chief narrowed his eyes, "Gather the warriors and come with me to meet this stranger."

Kappiataitok nodded and rushed off to fulfill his father's orders.

Turning from his son, Kaskae grabbed his spear and sword and threw on his armour before exiting the igloo with grim determination. The last time the man with the dragons and black cloak had showed up, things had not gone well. Many lives had been lost, including that of his father and older brother, leaving him as the leader of his people. He would make sure that didn't happen again.

Kappiataitok quickly joined him with the rest of the warriors, 27 in all, to go meet this stranger.

o~0~O~0~o

It was a beautiful day out as Hiccup and Toothless made their way towards the small village ahead. The sun was out and sparkled brilliantly against the 3 feet deep snow he was trudging through. He would have flown in, but he figured the village might be less hostile if he gave them a chance to know he was coming.

The village itself was quaint. Several igloos had been built for shelter and dog sleds were everywhere. Children ran around having fun while the woman of the village were either keeping them in line or working away at laundry, sewing or stretching hides. That was until the men, who were at the ocean's shoreline, gathered some weapons and began making their way towards him. As soon as they were on their way, the woman and children quickly rushed indoors.

The man leading the group was one of the taller men and was easily 20 years older than the rest. His skin was dark, as was normal for the people of the Inuit, and his face showed signs of his age. His black hair was beginning to show streaks grey and a thin scar ran across his right cheek. The man wore a set of armour over his furs that appeared to be made out of metal, but allowed for ease of movement. He appeared to be apprehensive about Hiccup's appearance.

o~0~O~0~o

Kaskae wasn't looking forward to this meeting, but nothing prepared him for what he saw. This was impossible… Night Fury's were extinct. Yet there one was, trotting beside the human who was a lot thinner than he remembered. Come to think of it, the stranger didn't look anything like the man that had visited their shores 16 years ago. Maybe this was that man's son?

As they got closer, Kaskae could see the stranger's features better. He had long, untamed auburn hair and a sharp jaw line. He was just under six feet tall and though his physique was thin, it was full of power. The face was young, but the eyes clearly had seen and been through a lot, they were still full of life however. Nothing about this boy even looked close to the man that had attacked them. Even still, the stranger was still wearing a black dragon hide cloak. He had to have gotten it from somewhere.

The Night Fury looked young, probably somewhere between 18 and 20. He was full of life and nearing his full size. He did notice however that a saddle with lots of metal instruments had been put on its back and his left tail fin was red. The dragon clearly was on guard, ready to spring into action if any of his men so much as raised their weapons. Quickly he gestured for his men to stand down. No use inviting the dragon to slaughter them all with no reason.

"Good afternoon stranger." Kaskae called out when they were 20 feet apart.

"Hilmir." **[4]** The stranger called out with a slight bow."

This surprised the Chief. Norse, the language of the Vikings. He had learned most of it from that Trader Johann fellow, but Vikings hated dragons. Why then, was this man travelling with a Night Fury?

Quickly, Kaskae switched to the Viking dialect, "Greetings, my name is Kaskae. What brings you and your Night Fury to our village?"

"Pleasure to meet you sir. My name is Hiccup the Horrendous, friend of dragons and feared by many. I recently came across some information about the possibility of a tribe of nomads in this region that used to follow a group of Night Furies. I was hoping I could reconnect my friend Toothless over here with his family, if they're still around."

Kaskae nearly laughed. The young man had the Offspring of Lightning and Death as his friend and he named him Toothless? But now was not the time to do so. He must ensure the protection of his people.

"Haven't heard of them." He replied.

"I think you have." Hiccup's eyes narrowed.

"I haven't seen any Night Furies around here in years. Don't know what happened to the people who followed them."

"I believe I've found them." Hiccup casually replied.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Yes."

Kaskae's eyes narrowed. The man was correct, but he had no idea how he knew. "What makes you say that?"

"You're not the first tribe we've visited since we arrived in this land. Every single other village has attacked us at the first sight of a Night Fury. You have a look of awe in your eyes every single time you look at him. It's not much, but when your father has about as much emotion as a rock, you tend to pick up on certain cues. Then there's the fact that you have a Night Fury on your left shoulder guard and the fact that you didn't charge me when I called your honor into question. You knew I was right."

The Chief was taken back at the man's statement. He was an observant young man, he'd give him that. "What do you want from us Hiccup?" he asked.

"Simple, to learn what happened to the last of his kind." Hiccup replied as he pointed to his friend. "In return, your people get a chance to reconnect with an aspect of their heritage. I'll also gladly cover any costs I may incur." Hiccup answered.

"What makes you think we should trust you? The last time a man like you came to us we were massacred. How do we know you aren't connected to him? And your name leaves us even less reason to trust you. 'Hiccup the Horrendous?' How did you earn that?"

"The truth is you don't. All you have is my word, but I won't hide my past deeds from you." Kaskae noticed the teen's fist clench slightly and his voice turn cold as he continued, "I used to be a man of peace." Hiccup spat, "I believed that peace between Vikings and dragon could exist. How naive I was. I was cast out of my home and disowned. My only crime, I was different. My tribe became my enemies that day, and it was my tribe who gave me my title. I declared war and killed many of them. As for the man who came before me, I have no idea who he is. The cloak I wear I got after Toothless and a Whispering Death got into a fight. I have never killed a dragon."

Kaskae gave this a moment's thought. He didn't know much about this young man, but he did appear to be telling the truth. He had given him the worst of himself. The Chief didn't know whether or not Hiccup was telling him everything, but he did not appear to be a danger to those other than his enemies. As long as this man wasn't provoked, things should be ok. Besides, his tribe hadn't seen a Night Fury in 16 years. The younger generation had yet to see what a beautiful, yet fierce animal the dragon could be. Oh, how he desperately wanted to show the kids their heritage. He'd have to keep on eye on them though.

"Alright." Kaskae agreed, "You may stay for a bit and learn about our history, as… Toothless… is a part of it. However, you will be watched. You will stay in my igloo for the Night."

Hiccup was going to protest, he had gotten quite used to sleeping under the wing of his dragon during their travels, but he realized this was an order, not a request. He wasn't keen on pushing these people just yet. Resigning himself to his fate, Hiccup held out a hand to shake.

o~0~O~0~o

They were getting close. Astrid and Quicksand had been joined by more and more dragons on their way North. There must have been over 700 dragons flying alongside them by this point. She didn't know where they were going, but if all the dragons were heading this way, Hiccup must be heading there as well.

Astrid glanced down below for some familiar land marks in order to figure out where exactly she was. What she saw made her hold her breath. She knew. The island of Berk was right there. She could clearly see the ant-like Vikings below preparing for the attack that wasn't coming.

What pulled at her heart strings though were the Snoggletog decorations that filled every nook and cranny of the village. How she wanted so much to head down there and spend the holidays with her family and friends. But the look of fear in the faces of those she could see kept her going. This was her best chance to find Hiccup and create a world in which the Vikings didn't have to fear an attack. So, she and Quicksand pressed on.

After another hour of flight, they came upon the entrance to Helheim's Gate. This couldn't be good. Anything involving the queen couldn't be good. Yet the dragons persisted on and so did she. They had a clear destination in mind and she would see exactly where that was.

It wasn't long before the fog bank broke and Astrid caught her first glimpse of the Nest in two years. What she saw took her breath away. It was gone. All that remained was shattered rock everywhere across the island and a small cone that rose up near the center where the Volcano had begun to rebuild itself. Two questions crossed her mind, what could have done this and what had happened to the Queen?

No sooner had her mind finally grasped that the Queen was gone than the fog bank enveloped her again and the dragons continued on.

She wasn't paying attention to how long it took them to break out of the fog bank again, but it wasn't long. What she saw made her catch her breath for the third time in as many hours.

Before her was an circular island made entirely out of rock. A shallow pool of turquoise waster took up the entire center of the island. The pool was lined with beautiful sand beaches, perfect for Quicksand to spend the day in. Rock shelves above the pool made room for hundreds of dragons of different species and more and more were beginning to land, including themselves.

Astrid dismounted with a pained grunt, her leg was still sore from the arrow. She took in her surroundings. It was breath taking, so many different dragons and colours, all living together and… Astrid's face turned red and she quickly looked away. She suddenly realized why all the dragons came here. There would probably be many eggs here soon.

Not one of them showed any sort of aggression whatsoever to her. She felt totally safe among these creatures. They were friendly to one another and each had their own individual little family groups. This was proof of everything Hiccup had tried to show the Vikings. Dragons were so much more than the mindless killing machines everyone thought they were. Peace was possible, she just needed to convince Hiccup that it still was.

o~0~O~0~o

"Hiccup, come and sit." Kaskae gestured to a spot on the ice shelf covered in caribou fur opposite of him and his wife, Aga **[5]** , and beside his son. Hiccup complied as Kaskae continued, "My daughter should be joining us shortly and then Aga has a delicious meal prepared for us."

"Your daughter?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, her name's Toklo **[6]**." Kaskae answered before a surprised shriek sounded from outside. "That should be her. Probably just found your Night Fury."

Hiccup chuckled as a figure came in shouting excitedly at the older man sitting across from him. Kaskae laughed, spoke a bit in his own language and gestured to Hiccup. She turned to face him and Hiccup felt his breath leave him. She was stunning. The young woman was probably about 18 years-old. Her hair was jet black and cut short, most likely for convenience. Her face was thin and delicate, her eyes were amber and her skin was fair for her people. Her figure was thin and graceful, yet power seemed to radiate from within. Dressed in white furs, she looked exquisite. As soon as he caught himself starring, Hiccup shook his head slightly to snap himself out of his trance.

"Hiccup, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Toklo. Toklo, I'd like you to meet Hiccup. He'll be our guest for the next little while." Kaskae introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you Hiccup. I here the Night Fury is your companion?" Toklo asked as she sat down next to her father.

Hiccup grinned, "Yep, he's been my family for about two years now."

He saw Toklo's face fall a little at the statement, "Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea. What happened to them."

Hiccup laughed, much to Toklo's confusion. "They're not dead. Well, my mother is, but she's been dead since I was a baby. I was just forced to leave."

"Oh?" Toklo questioned, but was interrupted as Aga came around and passed a plate of caribou steak to everyone. Hiccup smiled and thanked the woman which was returned with a smile.

Kaskae laughed, "She doesn't speak Norse, and Kappiataitok can only manage a few words so far."

Before Hiccup could answer, a giant white head poked its way through the igloo's entrance. Hiccup jumped back in surprise at the sight of the polar bear, much to the amusement of those sitting around him.

Toklo shouted something at the bear, who promptly returned back outside. She then turned to Hiccup, "Never mind him, he's just always looking for food. That's why I named him Karpok. It literally means 'Hungry.'"

Everyone laughed at Hiccup's blank expression, "Is there something I'm missing here?" He asked.

Kaskae grinned, "Toklo's always been… different. She likes to forge her own path and push past what others think is proper." He said with a touch of pride in his voice, "One year, when Toklo was around five years old, we had a small group of Polar Bears travel close by the camp, a mother and two young cubs. Toklo asked if she could have one as a pet. Of course, I said no. Polar Bears are after all one of the few species that will actually hunt man. I offered to get her a puppy instead, like all the other kids. Like usual, she had to be different."

Toklo chuckled, "I never actually found a dog that I liked, but when I was 12, I wandered off a ways from the camp. I had a lot of people worried about me apparently. While I was out, I came across a mother polar bear who had fallen through the ice. The bears had just come out of hibernation so they didn't have much strength and she had drowned. Her young cub was left, freezing and fighting for survival, so I gave him some seal jerky that I had on me."

"The two of them have been by each other's sides ever since." Kaskae finished. "they're a great hunting team too. Quite often they'll out do the hunting parties the men go out on."

Hiccup smiled, "There's an unusual friendship, but understandable and admirable."

"How did you and the Night Fury become friends?" Toklo asked.

Hiccup paused, was he really going to share that story with these people? Did he trust them enough? Human's had evil hearts, he had experienced that first hand. These people had been nothing but nice to him so far though, and they seemed to trust him to a degree.

"My village was plagued with dragon raids. One night during a raid, he was brought down and crashed in the woods. I came across him the next day. He was tangled in ropes and completely immobile. Killing him would have brought me great glory and prestige in our village. No one had ever seen a Night Fury before and no other dragon was feared as much as he was."

"Why didn't you kill him?" Toklo inquired.

"We were always taught from a young age that dragons were emotionless killing machines and that they could never be anything else. But that day, I saw something else… fear. I looked at him, and I saw myself. I cut him free, but he was injured. His left tail fin had been ripped off and he could no longer fly. My mentor, a blacksmith named Gobber once told me a downed dragon is a dead dragon, so I helped him to fly again. Over the next several weeks, we became inseparable friends."

"Commendable, showing mercy to your enemy." Kaskae praised.

"Ya, well, my father didn't see it that way."

"Ah yes, the reason for banishment, was it not?" the Chief replied.

"Wait, banishment?" Toklo asked.

"Yes, not everybody likes their children to be… different. I was disowned, exiled with only Toothless at my side. Of course, some regretted it later on when I killed a bunch of them. There will be no mercy for the rest."

"Why kill them, but not the dragon? I mean, they were your family and the dragons were attacking their home." Toklo pressed.

"I saw the truth, who really was at fault. 300 years of war, and not one of us ever bothered to find out exactly why the dragons were attacking us. Our ancestors got along relatively peacefully with the dragons. Sure, they were a big nuisance, but no one ever bothered to question why the raids got more and more bloody. When I offered them the chance at peace, once and for all, they showed who they really were. I removed the cause of the war, a giant Queen dragon who controlled them, but Vikings still hate the dragons who now do nothing against them without my direction. They want to fight, and so the only way to stop the fighting is for one side to win. It won't be the Vikings."

"You direct the dragons?" Kaskae asked.

"I saved them from a cannibalistic queen, so now they view me as their leader. The Vikings are used to fighting dragons and the dragons are used to fighting dragons. What neither of them is used to is organized dragons, and an Alpha leading them to battle."

"Sounds like you could be a very powerful man."

"I am, but not on my own. I have allies that will help me in the fight."

"Allies?" Toklo asked.

"A group of Vikings that have been Outcasted from the other tribes. Their obsessed with power and I've been helping drive that along a little."

Kaskae leaned back in thought. This was a very powerful man indeed, no matter how young he was. If he could broker an alliance, or at least mutual respect with Hiccup, he could prevent the events with the man who killed the Night Furies from ever happening again. This could be big for their tribe.

Then the big question came.

"So, what did happen to the Night Furies?" Hiccup asked.

As soon as he asked, Kaskae put down his fork.

"That is a less than happy story. It happened about 16 years ago. Toklo was just a small child and Kappiataitok was still in his mother's womb. Back then, my father, Ataneq **[7],** was Chief and my brother was the heir. I was one of the top warriors in our tribe. Back then, The Night Furies and our tribe were inseparable. We relied on each other. We followed the Night Furies because they always knew where the food was and they would help protect us from neighboring tribes. In return we would offer the dragons fish and protection for their little ones.

That was until a man landed on our shores with several large ships. He was large, with scars all across his face. He was missing an arm. His hair was black and tied in dreadlocks. He attacked quickly with many men. We put up a good fight, killed many of them, but they just kept coming. One by one, both the Night Furies and the men fell. Sometime during the fight, I was knocked out and thought to be dead. That is the only reason why I'm still alive.

The woman told me that after the battle ended, the attackers went through the village and killed all the young dragons. Apparently, the man wanted to show his men that they were invincible by annihilating the most feared species of dragon on the planet. One of the older hatchlings, a two-year-old, managed to escape, but we never saw him again. It was assumed he perished on the Tundra. Now we know otherwise.

After the battle, a few of the dragons were skinned. My wife saw the man wearing the Alpha's skin as a cloak. That's why we were so hesitant to let you into the village at first."

Hiccup hung his head, "So his family is gone then."

"I'm afraid so." Kaskae answered.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to umm… go for a walk and uhh… let him know."

The Chief nodded and Hiccup thanked him, then left.

As he exited the igloo, he was surprised to see that Toothless and Karpok were busy tussling around with each other. It seemed the two of them had become fast friends, even if the odds were in the Night Fury's favour.

Hiccup sat and silently watched the pair for a minute before the Night Fury noticed his rider and ended the wrestling match.

"Come on bud, we got some stuff to talk about."

The two walked off into the tundra as Hiccup explained what had happened in the hut. It started off with Toothless pressing Hiccup for info about the Inuit family and what they had talked about, but gradually grew into a conversation about the history of the Night Furies.

"Sorry for the waste of a trip bud."

 **"You have nothing to be sorry for. It's the man who will be sorry once I get my teeth on him."** Toothless added with a growl.

Hiccup chuckled grimly at his dragon's comment.

 **"But enough about my family's sob story, what about you and Toklo?"**

"What?"

 **"You two seemed to hit it off pretty well. She'd be a good mate for you now that Astrid's out of the picture."**

Hiccup shook his head and laughed, "There's nothing going on between me and her."

 **"Come on, I saw her. By human standards she's be quite desirable. Besides, that polar Bear is kind of fun."**

"We came here to give you a chance, not me. And besides, no girl would want me. I mean look at me, I'm small, weak and I've done things that no one would approve of."

Hiccup yelped as he was slapped over the head with Toothless's tail

 **"Stop beating yourself up. Your stronger than you think. And what was it you said to me before we came here? Something like it's too late for you and your kind and you didn't want me to give up my chance. Here you have a chance and I don't want you to give it up. Think about… please."**

Hiccup rubbed his head, "I will."

 **(A/N)**

 **[1] Kaskae means 'Chief' in Inuit.**

 **[2] Tuuluuwaq'Atka, I'm not sure exactly if this is correct, but as far as I can tell, this means "Fierce guardian spirit."**

 **[3] Kappiataitok=Brave**

 **[4] Hilmir means Chief in Norse.**

 **[5] Aga is translated to 'mother' in Inuit.**

 **[6] Toklo means 'Spontaneous and versatile'**

 **[7] Ataneq means King**

 **So many brainstorms have been had over the past week. The future events of this story have changed so much and the conclusion is finally something that I can look forward to writing. I don't know actually what will become of Hiccup and Toklo yet. What do you guys think? HiccupxOC or HiccupxAstrid? Let me know.**

 **I love to hear from you guys, your support makes writing this fun. Thank you all, even those who find this story topic horrible. I enjoy those discussions, just wish you'd actually let me know somehow who I'm talking to. I want to know If I'm actually having a discussion with one person or many.**


	26. Chapter 26

**(A/N) Hello once again everybody, there are plenty of things I have to say this time.**

 **First of all, it is **IMPORTANT** for those of you who are reading this chapter up to date to go and re-read chapter 25. As Cathyle pointed out, I only gave a basic introduction to Toklo's character. I thought about it and decided I didn't like what I had done. To be honest, the last chapter was very rushed, I only came up with the Idea for Toklo about two days before I actually wrote and posted that chapter. As such I have rewritten chapter 25. The changes begin at the supper scene so you can skip to that part without missing anything other than the fact that I gave the Nomadic tribe a name, the Tuuluuwaq'Atka, which means Fierce guardian spirit.**

 **Also, as you may have noticed, this story now has a cover photo. It was made by my cousin, who goes by QuantumWeb online and he did an amazing job. He and another guy who I am good friends with and goes by the name MrModDog are currently working on a Minecraft modpack for an upcoming server called Fortune Realms. The work those two have been doing is amazing. MrModDog should be coming out with a video on the basic vision of what we're doing soon and I'll let you guys know when it does come out.**

 **Another thing you may have noticed is the fact that I have been posting late. Exam season is upon me and so I have been slowing down in my writing. So, expect sporadic updates for the next little while. Were getting into the fun stuff though so stay tuned.**

 **Most of the Guest reviews for chapter 25 were about who I'm shipping Hiccup with, Toklo or Astrid. For those of you who want to keep it a secret, I wont spoil it for you. For those who must know, send me a private message and I'll (Begrudgingly) tell you. Both ladies have potential at this point still, but I've made up my mind. Also, I'm only going to respond to a select few reviews on the ship because there are a lot of them and I already have a large Author Note. I would like to say thank you though to those who did respond. Without further adu:**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Brenne: Yes, it was Drago who attacked the village, but the Tribe doesn't know who he is or where he came from so they just call him the man.**

 **Cathyle: Thanks, your review made chapter 25 10x better.**

 **Caboose 837: Hilarious in a way, but no.**

 **PlaidOtaku: Thanks**

 **Little NightFury17: they've been fixed.**

 **Skony7: Another review that made me laugh. My original plan was for that to happen, not now.**

 **OtusNox: Thank you, its really encouraging to hear that you love it so much.**

 **Chapter 26**

Hiccup chuckled as one of the small boys in the village shuffled nervously up towards Toothless. The dragon had been spoiled rotten all day by some of the older individuals in the tribe, but the children had never even seen a dragon before. All they saw was a giant, black, fire breathing beast of legend.

The boy was urged on by his friends, who had dared him to venture close, at least that's what Toklo had told him. She had been instructed to say by Hiccup's side and act as a translator for him. He suspected that the Chief also wanted someone to keep an eye on him at all times, and who better to keep an eye on him than the girl with the Polar Bear.

The boy held out a shaky hand holding a fish towards the Night Fury. The dragon stretched his head out and gently sniffing the fish. The dragon then jerked his head quickly and snatched up the fish in his teeth, making the boy shriek and fall on his back.

"Toothless, come on bud." Hiccup scolded.

 **"I'm just having some fun."** The dragon retorted.

Toothless then gave the boy his best pouty face and slowly walked up to him while crooned softly. They boy gave a nervous chuckle and reached up with his hand towards the dragon's scales. Toothless's eyes rolled back in pleasure as the boy gave him a gentle scratch. Encouraged by the effect he could have on the dragon, the boy gained some courage, stood up and gave a cheerful laugh this time. As soon as his friends saw that he hadn't been eaten, the Night Fury was engulfed in young kids eager to make friends with the dragon.

Hiccup and Toklo both laughed at the sight of the dragon literally getting belly rubs from all sides. That was until a jealous Karpok barged in to get some attention and scattered the children which almost made Hiccup and Toklo laugh even harder. The kids soon returned however and gave both animals some affection.

A cold wind picked up and blew a gust of ice crystals through the camp. Feeling the wind on his scales, Toothless stood up on his hind legs to taste the air. Hiccup grinned, he knew exactly what the dragon was thinking.

He turned to Toklo as Toothless pushed threw the crowd of kids to his rider's side without saying a word, "I think me and Toothless are going to go on a quick flight." He paused for a minute, considering Toothless's words from last night. "Would you want to join us."

Toklo smiled, "Sure, just let me go get my saddle."

Hiccup's face bore a confused expression and the young woman smiled as she ran off, Karpok trailing dutifully behind. Hiccup shrugged and began putting his own saddle on his dragon. Five minutes later, Hiccup had finished and Toklo had returned. She had a bow strung across her back with a quiver of arrows and a saddle on the Polar Bear. It was a simple design, a couple straps around the bear's shoulders and a rope to hold on to. Otherwise it was bear-back riding **[1].**

"Come on, lets go!" She yelled as she mounted Karpok and the two sped off.

Hiccup smiled as he and Toothless launched themselves into the air, much to the delight of the villagers.

It didn't take long to catch up to the pair on the ground. Hiccup couldn't help but admire the way Toklo and Karpok rode together. The Polar Bear displayed power as he cut through the snow drifts. Toklo was perfectly balanced on his back, nimbly shifting from side to side so the two could travel over ground with efficient and graceful ease. Every once and a while, the two would happen upon a large snow bank, which the bear would blow through in a puff of white powder from which the rider and the bear would emerge victoriously on the other side.

The two were obviously used to each other and enjoyed their time out here on the tundra. Hiccup smiled as the bear ran under an ice bridge and Toklo jumped over it with ease. He remembered performing a similar trick with Toothless not to long ago.

The girl glanced up and smiled. Hiccup took that as his cue to show her what he had. He happily obliged.

With a salute to the ground below, the two of them started climbing in the beginnings of a loop. At the apex of the climb, the two quickly fell back in a spiral towards the ground, only pulling up at the last second and whizzed by the pair on the ground. Their first stunt completed, Hiccup urged the two of them higher. "Alright bud, lets show her our best." The dragon grinned his toothless grin as he leveled out for a minute, and let Hiccup plummet to the ground before falling after him.

The two basked in the familiar sensation of the free fall they craved so much before opening their wings about a hundred feet from the ground. Both rider and dragon began gliding side by side, Toothless with his natural bat like wings and Hiccup with his Dragon-fly. They both looked to each other and grinned in pure ecstasy, until Hiccup noticed the hill of snow looming right in front of him.

"Toothless!"

The dragon gave out a roar of concern and started pumping his wings furiously to get to his rider. The dragon just managed to catch the young man in his wings a second before they hit the hill, crashing in a giant puff of powdery snow.

A second later, Toklo and Karpok came bounding over the hill, the Polar Bear sliding down on his belly. They saw the black dragon checking his wings for his rider, only to find that he wasn't within his grasp. Frantically, the dragon began checking everywhere for his rider, who popped up out of the snow a second later.

"Ya! We almost had it that time bud!" He shouted in excitement.

The dragon sent him a look that showed he clearly wasn't amused. He'd get his rider back later.

Laughing, Toklo jumped off Kapok's back and ran up to Hiccup, admiring the handiwork of the Dragon-fly at the same time. "That was amazing! How did you figure that out?"

Hiccup shrugged, "I like to invent things. One day I had an accident and injured myself while flying. I made the suit so I'd have a little more time in the air next time. So far its caused more accidents than its saved me from though."

Toklo laughed, "What oth-"

She was cut off as Toothless's tail swept both young adults of their feet, Hiccup landing on top of the girl. Hiccup blushed as he realized his face was less than an inch from hers. They both quickly scrambled to his feet and Hiccup noticed Toklo's face was just as beat red as his. He shot a quick glare at his friend and the dragon gave him an innocent 'I don't know what your talking about' look.

"I'm sorry about that." Hiccup said as he turned back to Toklo, "He likes to tease me."

The girl blushed again, "Don't worry about it."

The sound of a loud horn sounded across the tundra and Toklo's face turned from beat red to pale.

"What's wrong? What was that?" Hiccup asked.

"The horn, it's a war horn."

Hiccup nodded and immediately jumped into Toothless's saddle, "We'll fly ahead and see if we can help out any."

With a powerful beat of the wings that threw snow in all directions, the two launched into the air and made for the village with Toklo and Karpok running full tilt down below.

Hiccup couldn't believe what he saw from the air. The Tuuluuwaq'Atka's 27 warriors were all dressed in in armour and had their weapons at the ready, but they were vastly outnumbered. Making their way towards the village were almost 50 heavily armed individuals.

What they Tuuluuwaq'Atka's couldn't see however was the army of just over 100 people lying in wait for the Tribe's inevitable retreat through a nearby mountain pass. This wasn't just a mere skirmish, whoever was attacking was bent on total annihilation.

The two wasted no time in joining the fight. They dived towards the group of 100 first. It would give away their position to Kaskae and his warriors and hopefully cause confusion among the attacker's troops. The position of the army in the mountain pass made them an easy target as well. The mountain's narrow walls had them all pressed up tightly together.

The Night Fury's wail sounded through the air as Toothless charged a blast. A giant purple explosion erupted among the group of people and sent bodies flying in wails of anguish. Hiccup looked back, a sizable hole had been made in the earth and at least 20 individuals had been killed with many more wounded.

Heads turned in confusion as men looked for the source of the wail and the explosion. When the second wail started, people started to panic and flee towards the nearest cover. It didn't help them any. The flying duo's second shot struck an unstable ledge above them which started an avalanche and buried them all in a pile of rubble. All that remained of the attacker's army was the 50 that were now engaged with the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's.

By the time the two joined the fray, Toklo and Karpok had already joined the battle. Hiccup couldn't help but admire the way the two fought together. Every shot the girl made with her bow stuck home and the bears massive front paws delivered powerful blows in close. She was the only girl fighting on either side, but she and the bear were the only reason why her tribe was still in the battle. However, she was slowly but surely being cornered by more and more people eager to end both her and Karpok, where they stood.

It was time to tip the odds in their favour. The fighting was too intense for Hiccup and Toothless to jump into the fray plasma blasts raging. They'd have to get up close and personal in order to work effectively. The two dove for the girl and her bear and landed on their left side, pinning two attackers to the ground beneath sharp claws. A swipe from Toothless' tail knocked the air out of the three more, which gave Toklo and Karpok some relief and allowed for them to finish off the attackers on the right.

"Nice to see you finally made it." Toklo teased.

"Oh, you know. Had to see what you could do."

"Glad to see you didn't wait too long."

Hiccup smiled and then turned back to fighting. He jumped from Toothless' saddle, engaged his claw, drew his sword and lit it up. Any attacker they faced were too stunned by the purple arc of fire and the dragon to put up much resistance. Hiccup's weapons easily cut down those who stood against him and those who tried to put up a resistance to the fearsome Night Fury were quickly torn apart. Toklo and Karpok managed to down just as many attackers as the dragon and his rider out of a combination of sheer skill and power. With the four of them fighting side by side, the attackers never stood a chance.

The battle only lasted about 15 minutes in total. A handful of men attempted to flee the onslaught of the Night Fury, Polar Bear and their riders, but were quickly brought down with a few plasma blasts from both the dragon his rider, and some arrows from Toklo. One was left alive in order to spread the word that the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's were not to be messed with.

Among the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's, 8 of the 27 warriors had been killed. It would had been a lot worse however if Hiccup and Toothless hadn't been there.

With the battle over, Toklo turned to Hiccup, who was still holding his burning sword. "Where did you get that?" She asked.

Hiccup glanced down to the sword as he cut off the fuel supply and sheathed it to asphyxiate the flames. "As I said, I'm a bit of an inventor. I noticed certain habits of Toothless' that seemed strange, so I experimented and came out with this thing."

"That's amazing."

"Why thank you. You were amazing out there too by the way."

"That she is." Kaskae interrupted as he walked up to the two teens. He had a pronounced limp from a stab wound on his right leg. At the moment, it was being held together with a temporary bandage, but if would have to get some medical attention soon. "She started learning to fight when she was only six years old. It was looked down upon by most of the village at first, but her tenacity eventually won the respect of her peers. You know, you did pretty well yourself out there Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded but then changed the subject, "With all due respect, what was that?"

"That was the Sangilak **[2]** Tribe. Generations ago an argument broke out between their Chief and ours, nobody remembers what it was about, but we've been bitter enemies with them ever since. They're one of the strongest tribes in the North. There was a time when we were just as strong as they were, but that was before the man came. They've kept our numbers down ever since and tried to wipe us out several times, but we've always managed to escape before that could happen. They managed to catch us by surprise this time though. I don't know that we would have survived if it wasn't for you and your dragon.

Today you fought bravely with power and skill, but not like a Night Fury."

This caught Hiccup's attention and Kaskae smiled. This could be a good way to cement an alliance between them.

"The Tuuluuwaq'Atka's lived for many years with the Night Fury's. We lived and fought with them. Our fighting techniques are directly based on how they did battle. A Night Fury is quick, precise and powerful. He is able to deal massive amounts of damage in a just few seconds. Would you like to learn to fight like that?"

Hiccup grinned, "I would."

o~0~O~0~o

Astrid was truly enjoying herself. It was like the dragons had their own holiday traditions and she had been invited to it. All around her the dragons had been calm, respectful and at times, curious.

She had been surprised when she learned the eggs exploded when they hatched after a Gronkle mother had failed to shove an egg into a nearby pool of water, but she had been delighted with the new babies. Here the dragons were, working together as a loving family, the exact opposite of what everyone believed they could be. If only they could see this.

Though this wasn't the same as spending Snoggletog with her family and friends, this was a close second.

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup was ready. The whole tribe had packed up everything and moved early to their summer training grounds. Every year, the tribe would come here to hone in on their warrior skills and train up the next generation. It wasn't hard to see why; the area was breath taking. Mountains provided a beautiful back drop. Their cliffs and crevices providing an excellent natural training ground and the mountain sides contained one of the few forests that existed this far North.

It was here that Kaskae had been hard at work turning Hiccup into a Tuuluuwaq'Atka warrior.

"The Tuuluuwaq'Atka mimic a Night Fury in every way during combat. To fight like a Night Fury, you must be fast, agile, powerful and precise!" The Chief began, "You must be able to strike a devastating blow where and when your opponent least expects it. Your training regimen will be strict, demanding and tax you to your limits. But, in just a few short months, you will be practically unstoppable. Are. You. Ready?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Good, lets begin!" Kaskae turned towards his daughter and nodded. Taking the cue, the girl took a running jump at a nearby cliff. Using calculated, well placed feet and hands, the girl quickly scaled the rock face to the top with graceful movements, climbing over about 20 feet in just under a minute without breaking a sweat. Hiccup stood there, slack jawed at the feat.

Kaskae turned to him, "Now you try."

Hiccup just stared at the cliff for a second before shrugging it and giving it a go. His movements were less than graceful and in many instances, he slipped and fell a few feet before managing to bring himself to a stop. When he finally reached the top, and hour had gone by and he was struggling hard to catch his breath. Kaskae met him there, having taken the long way around due to his injured leg.

"That was good, you almost beat Toklo's time, when she was 7!"

The next few weeks consisted of intense physical training, mostly involving agility at first. He would be forced to jump great distances across a crevice, then jump those distances while doing a front flip. They would make him run for hours, and then he would run for hours with a man on his back. They would make him run up a hill while jumping over rolling logs, then he would have to do it while dodging shots from an arrow.

Five weeks later, he was in better shape than he had ever been, so a healed Kaskae decided he was ready for actual combat training.

"Your first training lesson will not include an actual weapon, on your person." A Kaskae grinned as he drew a sword, "Your first task, evade my strikes."

Hiccup gulped as the first swipe came at him, even though he easily managed to dodge it by side-stepping to the right. The next few blows weren't nearly as easy to dodge, even though he knew the Chief was holding back. He had to rely on everything he had learned to do in his last few weeks of agility training. His feet were constantly moving and he even had to perform a few flips to avoid a few blows. As time went on, Kaskae put more and more effort into his strikes, but Hiccup was a quick learner. After 25 minutes, both men were tiring, but not one hit had been made.

"Good job Hiccup. It seems the past few weeks have served you well." Kaskae praised.

"Thank you." Hiccup panted.

"Don't thank me yet, your training isn't over. Now you evade him." Kaskae pointed to Toothless, who had been watching the fight with rapt attention.

The dragon grinned his toothless smile and Hiccup paled.

o~0~O~0~o

Kaskae had finally deemed Hiccup had improved enough with his agility to move on in his training. He was glad too. He wasn't sure how many more "evade the Night Fury" sessions he could handle. That was why they were now back at the cliff with Kaskae looking down at him from the top.

"Try and keep it under 2 minutes this time!" The chief called out.

Hiccup gave a running jump and started to climb the cliff. His movements were much more precise and agile this time. He used his momentum to jump from rock formation to rock formation, completing the climb in 1minute, 54 seconds.

With a final lunge, he grabbed the top of the cliff and pulled himself up, only to find Kaskae was sitting there, blindfolded.

"Good." The chief said, "But I could hear you. Do it again."

o~0~O~0~o

A week later, Hiccup finally had a sword in his hand, though wasn't his own. His was to hard on his opponents blades for effective combat training apparently.

Kaskae stood at the sidelines of a small ring, watching him along with Toothless. Toklo was in the ring with him, brandishing a sword.

A gong rang and the fight began. Digging down to his Viking roots, Hiccup raised his sword and charged with a Viking roar. Toklo, did the exact opposite, instead choosing to up her guard and stand quietly at the ready.

When Hiccup reached her, she drew back, ran her sword down the length of Hiccup's blade, hooked it around his cross-guard and disarmed him. Before he could recover, Toklo spun around and hit the back of his head with the flat of her sword.

Hiccup hit the ground dazed. He felt a sharp jab of pain in his arm as the girl stepped on his arm. He felt cold steel touch the back of his neck and he knew the fight was over.

Toklo stepped back and helped the boy to his feet.

 **"Haha! you just got beat by a girl!"** Toothless teased.

Hiccup chose to ignore the dragon as Kaskae spoke, "I see we have a lot of work to do."

o~0~O~0~o

Several weeks later, Hiccup's 17th birthday had come and gone and he found himself in the ring once again after learning many fighting techniques over and over again, and being beat by Toklo over and over again.

The gong sounded for the umpteenth time and the fight began. The characteristic Viking roar and charge had been drilled out of him in the many weeks of combat training. Instead, he kept his guard up and approached the girl carefully.

Hiccup sent out the first strike, aimed perfectly at the woman's neck. Reacting swiftly, Toklo brought up her own blade to block his strike. Keeping on the offensive, Hiccup struck again at girl's mid section. Taking a step back, Toklo let the sword sail past her and took the opportunity to launch an attack.

Her sword sailed straight and true towards Hiccup's legs, a crippling blow that would end the fight. Hiccup however, jumped over the blade with a front flip, using his momentum to drive home a downwards strike.

Toklo didn't have all those years of experience for nothing however and easily brought up her blade to block, but stumbled under the weight of the blow. Hiccup used this to his advantage and attempted to aim another strike at her neck.

This time he succeeded, pulling his strike at the last second, only to find that Toklo had done the same to him. The fight had ended in a tie.

Kaskae clapped, "Good job Hiccup. Now, I join in."

o~0~O~0~o

Another few weeks had gone by. It was now nearing the end of March. In one months, the ice that had regrettably prevented the Outcast invasion fleet from attacking the Northland Tribe would melt and he would have to leave. Fortunately, he was almost finished his training here.

"Your last test is a simple one." Kaskae began as the started walking towards the forest, "We both enter the forest from opposite sides and fight. Stealth is the key here. A Night Fury strikes quickly from the shadows and deals major damage before disappearing once again into the night. You must use everything you have learned these past few months in order to succeed."

Hiccup nodded in understanding.

"Good luck." The Chief encouraged before leaving.

When both men were in position, they entered the forest and the fight began.

Hiccup instantly took to the trees after grabbing a few rocks. They would come in handy later. He silently moved from branch to branch. More things could go wrong up here, a branch could break, leaves could rustle and give his position away, but Kaskae had neglected to mention one aspect of the fight. This was not just about stealth, this was about being smart as well.

Kaskae, though he tried hard not to show it, still favoured his right leg. That combined with his older age meant that the Chief would be forced to stay on the ground. From up above, Hiccup would easily be able to spot the man before the Chief could locate the trainee. Travelling from tree to tree also had the added benefit of not leaving footprints in the snow.

So, he found concealed spot above a game trail to wait out his opponent.

Sure enough, Hiccup spotted his opponent first. It had taken the Chief about six hours and the sun had long since set, but he had finally decided to go on the hunt. The man was staying close to the ground and moving slowly, careful not to make a sound and give away his position, but his movements had nonetheless given away his location in the otherwise motionless forest.

Hiccup waited until Kaskae was directly below him, then he grabbed one of his rocks and threw it at a tree about 40 feet away. A sharp crack was heard and the Chief's head instantly turned towards the source, listening for anything else. When nothing came, Kaskae slowly started making his way in the direction of the sound.

Hiccup silently made his way down the tree and hid himself amongst the shrubbery on the forest floor. Up a head, Kaskae stopped to listen, and he stopped as well, only daring to move when the Chief did. He worked to slowly close the distance, occasionally throwing a rock at a tree to change the Chief's direction of travel and get closer at the same time.

Kaskae was relying on Hiccup's inexperience. Hiccup had never passed a test on the first try, so he underestimated the teen's abilities. That was why he never saw the strike from Hiccup's sword coming. It was only when he felt the cold sting of metal on his neck did he realize he had lost.

Smiling at the young man's victory, Kaskae stood up and congratulated him. "Well done. I couldn't have done it better myself. Now come, let us head back to the camp to celebrate!"

Hiccup smiled at the praise, "Thank you very much. I couldn't have done this without you."

As soon as the two of them got back to the village, a feast was prepared. A table made of ice had been constructed and the villagers were taking seats. Hiccup being the guest of honor, was given a seat near the Chief, right beside his daughter.

"Congratulations Hiccup. I hear you performed excellently." She greeted when he sat down.

"Thank you Toklo, that means a lot." He replied as the Chief stood up.

"Welcome all!" Kaskae began in his own tongue. Over time, Hiccup had learned the language of the Inuit. He and Kappiataitok had taken to learning each other's language together and it was during this time that Hiccup found he took to other languages pretty easily. "We are here tonight to celebrate Hiccup's completion of his training!"

The crowd of people cheered and clapped. It was always a momentous occasion when a new warrior completed his training.

"With the successful completion of his training, I am deeming him an honorary member of this tribe. He has earned a place among our warriors!" The tribe cheered as Kaskae turned to Hiccup, "From here on out, I will not be your teacher, your Night Fury friend will. Watch him, study his fighting styles and movements and mimic them. That is how the best of us learned back when the Night Furies still ruled the skies, but you have something they didn't. You own the skies along with the mighty dragon! If you learn from him, I have no doubt you will become the greatest warrior this tribe has ever seen! Should you choose to stay with us, we will welcome you with open arms. If you decide to head back to your home, let it be known that you will always have a place among us. Regardless, I now present you with this!" Kaskae gestured to the area behind Hiccup and the young man turned to see Kappiataitok holding a set of armour.

It was the same type of amour the Chief and the rest of his warriors used and Hiccup took a closer look at it. Thin metal plates had been covered with black leather and overlaid on top of each other to provide maximum protection with ease of movement. The armour extended down past the hips at the sides and the shoulders were protected by another metal plate along with some chainmail to allow for more flexibility. The arms were largely exposed but leather gauntlets protected the wrist and hands.

"A set of this armour is presented to all who complete their training. Of course, customization is always encouraged to fit your fighting style."

Hiccup stared on in awe at the armour as a couple of villagers rushed up to help him put it on. After attaching his sword to his hip and his claw to his arm they all took a step back.

The village went quiet as Toothless sauntered up beside his rider, curiosity abounding at the new attire.

It was Toklo who broke the silence, "Wow, you two look fearsome together. I wouldn't be surprised if you could make a whole army run from one look at you."

"Thank you, I'll take that as a complement." Hiccup replied.

The rest of the night passed quite enjoyably, but morning found Hiccup sitting alone with Toothless. That was until Toklo decided to join him.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"About what to do now that my training has been finished."

"And what have you decided."

Hiccup turned to face her, "For the first time I can remember in my life, I'm happy. I'm accepted for who I am, not scowled upon for who I'm not or viewed as a means to an end."

"But…" Toklo pressed.

"I can't just let go of my past. I have to destroy it. Otherwise it will come back to haunt me in one way or another. I'm sure of it. I've pretty much made enemies of the entire archipelago where I grew up, and if I leave, those whom I care about will be hunted to extinction. I have to go back."

o~0~O~0~o

The return migration had begun. Everywhere, young dragons were taking to skies with their parents on their way to their future home.

Astrid and Quicksand were among those leaving. The male dragon had made a batch of baby Sand Wraiths, but as is they way of their species, the dragon had helped raised the hatchlings to the point they could fly, and then was leaving them to the protection of their mother.

Astrid was a bit saddened at the prospect of leaving the dragons, but she had a mission. Hiccup and Toothless had not been among the nesting dragons, but she would find them. She was determined.

 **(A/N)**

 **[1] Pun unintended (Or was it?) :D**

 **[2] means "Strongest of All."**

 **And that's all I have to say. See you next update :D**


	27. Chapter 27

**(A/N) Found some inspiration and some free time, so I got this chapter pumped out. I've wanted to write this chapter for so long, I'm happy I was finally able to.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **5: Thank you very much, and yes, things are going to be insane for the next little bit. As for Alvin, he needs a way to control the dragons first before he could even think of getting rid of Hiccup, but it doesn't always have to be that way.**

 **GostRider: Good observation, but I have a history lesson for you(no offense). Alexander the Great, one of the great military strategists in all the world. He took over most of the known world before the reign of Emperor Nero, (whom I believe I established already, but if not there you go). As such, the world was Hellenised, or "Greekified." Most of the world at that time would have spoken Greek over their own native language. Now the Romans, being Roman, would have spoken Latin, yes, but most of the Roman Army was actually composed of people that weren't actually Roman Citizens (Being part of the Roman Army was actually a way to gain citizenship after their Service had been completed, an important thing to have in those days), and since everybody already knew Greek, the most logical language to use in the army would have been Greek. Ad that is why I choose to have the Romans speak Greek.**

 **newke: I've ben trying to add humor where I can, but that isn't always the easiest to do with this subject matter. And also, I did mention Karpok's gender, and he is a guy.**

 **Nonormal99: I'm surprised how many people actually want that, but that wont work no matter how hard I try to make it happen (Even if I wanted) with the way this story is going.**

 **Guest 1: I actually neve mentioned a pairing before chapter 25. The most I had hinting towards a possible romantic tie between Hiccup and anyone was a brief prophecy near the beginning, but even then, the ending is left pretty ambiguous (on purpose). I think everyone will be pretty satisfied with how things go though.**

 **TMYSchol: Duly noted.**

 **Guest 2: When did I ever say Astrid could help him? Even if I decide to make Hiccup fall in live with Toklo, it doesn't Astrid's role in this story that much.**

 **OechnerC: We'll see.**

 **Lightfootk: Thank you**

 **Little NightFury17: Thank you and soon :D**

 **Dragonlover66: Thank you.**

 **Chapter 27**

A lone ship made its way slowly into port. Normally, such a thing wouldn't be too much cause for concern, but there were several things wrong with it.

For instance, it was an unscheduled visit. Viking Chiefs usually announced their intended visits through messenger hawks, like the Meatheads had done. They were due to arrive in two days time to reaffirm an alliance between the two tribes. Or there was the fact that it was so early in the season. It usually took traders and travelers a few more weeks before they would test the waters. Icebergs still ran rampant in the seas. The Meatheads were taking a chance as it was.

The worst thing about this however was the pressing concern was that the tribe knew which fleet this ship had come from. The iconic dragon skull mounted on the bow was evidence enough… the Outcast tribe. Nothing good ever came from the Outcasts.

As such, the Northlander's warriors were on edge with their weapons drawn. What they weren't expecting was a thin, but tall young man with strange black armour, holding a white flag step off the ship and onto the dock.

Hiccup smiled, this was it. Everything he had been preparing for these last few years started now. By the time everything was all said and done, the human threat would be taken care of, the dragons would be safe and Berk would be a smoldering ruin.

He had been busy since had had arrived back to Outcast Island. It was his plan to take over the Northlander Tribe, so he had been put in charge of strategy and overseeing preparations along with Savage. Of course, everything they did had to go through Alvin first before it was approved.

On top of that, Hiccup had done several customizations to his new set of armour. He had replaced all the metal parts with Nightshade Steel, even the chainmail. He had also attached places on the sides to hold his throwing knives and hidden a few more throughout the suit. Another thing he had done was incorporate the Dragon-Fly wing suit into it. Instead of the wing suit being made from leather, it had been fabricated from what was left of the Whispering Death he and Toothless had fought.

The last change he had made was to his claw. He had made a new one, one that fit better with the suit and was more efficient. Instead of rotating around as one piece, the blades were now spring loaded and able to operate separately from each other. To engage the blades, Hiccup simply pressed a button on his gauntlet and used his fingers to control the blades. When his hand was open, the blades were closed. When he made a fist, the blades extended. This allowed Hiccup to fight more effectively and effeicintly as well as have different combinations of blades active at a single time.

"I need to speak to the Chief!" Hiccup spoke, "I have to warn him!"

The men all looked at each other, wondering what they should do, until a large man with a shaggy brown beard and a skull for a helmet stepped forward.

"I am Arngrim Dammen, Chief of the Northlanders. State your name and your business here stranger."

Hiccup was taken a bit back at this. They didn't know who he was. The more he thought about it though, the more it made sense. He was far from the small kid he was when he left, and Berk had been the only one to see him since then. On top of that, his regular dragon skin cloak was gone to, a distinguishing mark for most of the Archipelago.

"There's an army coming this way, sir. I came to warn you. The whole of the Outcast fleet is making its way here."

Chief Dammen narrowed his eyes. How did you come by this information and who are you!"

The Chief didn't fail to notice the mischievous glint in the stranger's eyes as he answered, his voice turning cold, "I know because I'm leading the army here. You have a choice, surrender now to Hiccup the Horrendous, or you die tonight."

The Chief's eyes hardened as he raised up his sword and charged with a Viking yell. Hiccup sighed as the man charged him and easily stepped out of the way. The big man barreled past, lost his balance and fell into the icy water below.

The rest of the Viking didn't hesitate to follow their leader and began to charge the young man. Hiccup whistled sharply and he ship behind him exploded in a purple cloud of fire. The men faltered slightly as a Night Fury appeared on the dock. Hiccup quickly mounted the dragon and took off leaving stunned men behind.

"Help me up you fools!" Dammen shouted angrily. Quickly a couple men reached towards their chief and pulled him up out of the water.

"Get a messenger Hawk. Tell the Meatheads to get here on the double!"

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup waited just above the clouds. Just as he wanted, a hawk flew from the island not 15 minutes after he left.

"Let's get it bud." Hiccup encouraged.

The dragon gave a grunt of enthusiasm and put on a burst of speed. The small bird was no match for the two and Hiccup soon had it in his grasp. He unrolled the message and read it through.

 _Chief Mogadon the Meathead,_

 _I, Chief Arngrim Dammen of the Northlander Tribe, encourage you to make haste on your journey to our village. It would seem the enemy of the entire Archipelago has finally decided to make a move._

 _Hiccup the Horrendous, now allied with the Outcasts is on his way to destroy our village. I fear that if we don't stop him now, yours could be next._

 _Sincerely,_

 _-Arngrim Dammen, Chief of the Northlanders_

Hiccup though for a moment, before erasing a portion of the message and rewriting it. He needed the Archipelago to be scarred of him, but not know where he was.

 _Chief Mogadon the Meathead,_

 _I, Chief Arngrim Dammen of the Northlander Tribe, encourage you to make haste on your journey to our village. It would seem the enemy of the entire Archipelago has finally decided to make a move._

 _Hiccup the Horrendous is on his way to destroy our village. I fear that if we don't stop him now, yours could be next._

 _Sincerely,_

 _-Arngrim Dammen, Chief of the Northlanders_

Satisfied with his doctored message, he gave it back to the hawk and released the bird.

The two waited around in the air and caught every single bird that left the island to warn and ask help from the neighboring tribes before rejoining the Outcast fleet on its way to the island.

o~0~O~0~o

The Northlander Tribe was on high alert. Being one of the farthest villages from the nest, the Northland Tribe had been able to build up better defenses than most without having them constantly burnt down. As such, the Tribe was one of the few villages that actually had a wall. With an attack immanent, most of the tribe's warriors had been stationed there to defend the town. The rest were ready to spring into action to defend the townsfolks in the village or on one of the 12 catapults situated above the tribe.

Arnthor Hælæifsson and a few others stood on that wall, watching for Hiccup and the Outcasts to make their appearance. At the first sign of danger, he'd sound the alarm, putting the whole Tribe into action. Their job was about to become harder though as a fog bank was rolling in.

Arnthor and his fellow watchmen had been up here since sunset, that was five hours ago. It was beginning to look like Hiccup wasn't going to show and he was growing bored. So, he leaned up against the railing and looked down. That was when he saw the rat climbing the wall.

He went and grabbed a bow and arrow, might as well have a little bit of target practise, and turned to head back to the railing. The rat was already to the top of the wall and trying to find someplace to hide, but it wasn't a rat, it was a Terrible Terror.

Quickly Arnthor notched an arrow and called out to those standing watch with him. Before he could fire, a man named Folkmar stepped in the way and swung a hammer at the beast. The little dragon squawked in fear and darted away. Others quickly joined in to capture or kill the dragon. Arnthor tried to get a shot at the creature, but people kept getting in the way of his shot. Scowling, he threw the weapon away and dove at the beast.

It took five minutes of running, jumping and diving to finally catch the beast with his hands. Holding it by the scruff of the neck, he held the growling Terror up for the others to see. That was when the fog bank reached the wall, but it wasn't fog.

The mist had a strange colour to it and Arnthor knew the smell. Zippleback gas. Before he could do anything, the small dragon in his grasp opened up his mouth and fired off the first shot of the battle. The wall and everyone on it exploded in an instant.

Hiccup smiled as he spotted the orange glow on the horizon. Every single one of the Zipplebacks he had at his disposal had released their gas cloud into the wind. Without them, the orange glow on the horizon that had wiped out half of the Northlander' defensemen wouldn't have been possible.

With the enemy's wall burning in the distance, the Outcast's ships started making their way to the Northlander tribe's shores to empty their cargo of men.

It wasn't until they were but a hundred feet from shore that inhabitants of the island finally caught sight of the attacking ships through the blaze and the order was given to fire the catapults.

That was when the familiar screech that all Vikings feared sounded through the night air and a purple explosion rendered one of the catapults in the useless. Dragons filled the air, targeting the Catapults rather than the sheep and yacks like they normally did. Soon, the wooden artillery stationed around the village were all burning wrecks and the Outcast's fleet was only just reaching the shore.

The tribe knew they were in trouble when men began pouring out of the ships and more dragons filled the air.

Swords crashed against swords as claws and talons grabbed at men, ready to tear them apart or burn them to a crisp. The Northlander tribe was quickly decimated against the onslaught of both Vikings and Dragons working together.

Peering through the chaos below him, Hiccup managed to spot Chief Dammen defending himself against five outcasts, who were no match for the man in a fight all about how hard you could hit and how well you could absorb blows. Hiccup nudged the Night Fury and the two descended to confront the Chief.

"Dammen!" Hiccup called out to the Chief as he dismounted his dragon. Dammen looked up as he delivered the final strike to the last of the Outcasts.

"You!" The large man screamed.

"Yes me. I told you that you'd be dead by tonight, I plan on keeping that promise."

The Chief's eyes burned with fire as he raised his sword to charge the young man. Clearly he had learned nothing from earlier. Dammen swung his sword through the air at his opponent, but Hiccup easily evaded it, twisting his body over the blade and swinging his claw at the Chief's stomach at the same time. Dammen's enraged roar turned to a scream of pain as Nightshade Steel easily cut through the Chief's armour.

The man fell to the ground as his intestines spilled from his gut. Showing no mercy, Hiccup turned from the mortally wounded man, leaving him to die alone and in agony. The man would have done the same to a dragon.

Looking up, Hiccup saw the few remaining warriors drop their weapons as both Outcasts and dragon alike cornered them. They and their woman and children would be taken back to Outcast Island as slaves, but first they were tied up and thrown below the decks of the Outcast's ships.

Then the pillaging began. Every house that had not been burnt to the ground was invaded, stripped of valuables and then burnt to the ground. Hiccup supervised as any evidence of Outcast involvement was eradicated. Armour and weapons were collected, bodies were burned and witnesses were loaded onto ships. By the time morning came, not one Northlander remained free, their homes and shops had been destroyed by fire and not one Outcast ship, remained on the island. All the Meatheads would see when they arrived was smouldering ruins and the blackened skeletons of those who had entered Valhalla.

 **(A/N) And so the madness begins. Were going to be temporarily taking a step back from Astrid's journey for the next little bit in order to explore more of what's happening elsewhere in the Barbaric Archipelago, but she'll come back.**


	28. Chapter 28

**(A/N) Hey guys. I was supposed to be studying for exams, but instead this happened. Enjoy :D**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Guest 1: One of the goals I had when I started this fanfiction was to be controversial, so I expect some people to not be happy over what I write. However, I can promise you that Astrid's role will be a very important role. I don't believe I'm diminishing her role in any way. Also, Hiccup doesn't always turn the other cheek. We see him attempt to murder a bounty hunter by making him fall to his death, but somehow the bounty hunter survives falling down a cliff. Also, although the main theme for this fanfiction is how we are all sinners, it isn't the only theme., but the secondary one will become more apparent as the story progresses.**

 **Brenne: Yep and thanks.**

 **GostRider: No problem.**

 **MAD Marty: What you say is true, but Alvin also isn't stupid. Like that one homeless mandarin guy said in one of the Iron Man movies, "As soon as evil has a face, everyone comes after it." Or something like that. The archipelago sees Hiccup as the evil they must destroy, but as soon as it is discovered that the Outcasts are working with Hiccup, the Outcasts will be targeted. If they stayed at the Northlander's island, it would be obvious they were allies with Hiccup and an invasion force would be on the way. That being said, that doesn't mean they can't come back later.**

 **Little NightFury17: Well thanks, I've never read the books o that is completely by accident.**

 **lightfootk: Thank you.**

 **Chapter 28**

The Archipelago was in utter panic. The news of the Northlander's annihilation at the hands of Hiccup the Horrendous and his Night Fury had spread like wildfire after the Meatheads had found the smoldering settlement. What was even more shocking was the amount of time it had taken the young man and the dragon. The flagship of the Meatheads had received the plea for help an estimated four hours after the Hawk had taken off. They had then put all their efforts into shaving off as much time as possible on their way to the doomed tribe. As far as they could figure, they had arrived on the Northlander's shores only 32 hours after the distress call had been sent.

The Chief's of the Barbaric Archipelago were coming together to discuss the immediate threat that was Hiccup the Horrendous and what they would do about it. The location had been set. The Meatheads knew the most, So The Thing would occur at their island.

With everything progressing as he had anticipated, it was time for Hiccup to enact the next part of his plan, a part that not one of the Outcasts knew about. This was all him. However, there was one problem he needed to take care of first. That problem was currently sailing through a starless night on its way to the Meathead Tribe, unaware that a certain rider and Night Fury were stalking them from above.

o~0~O~0~o

Stoick the Vast was in a foul mood and of the crew on the ship were avoiding him because of it. Ever since the betrayal of his son, the Council of Elders had been hinting for Stoick to either remarry and father another heir, which he had flat out refused out of respect for his late wife; and Spitelout had been up to his old tricks again, pushing for him to make Snotlout the next in line for the throne. He was gaining some support from the council, but he'd pretty much lost all of his public favour after his defeat at the hands of Hiccup.

However, when the news had come that Hiccup was no longer content to stay hidden and was making moves in the Archipelago, the Council had really started to put the pressure on him. It seemed they were after him everyday to marry this young maiden or that one. Whenever he refused, they switched gears to go on and on about Snotlout. They were really starting to get on his nerves.

So far, he had stood strong against their demands, but the combined stress from the council and knowing that it was him that created the monster that had destroyed the Northlanders was weighing heavily on him. As such he had the entire lower deck to himself, even though it was a cold night. No one wanted to get in the Chief's way. On the bright side, his foul mood had frightened most of the council members enough to get them off his back for the time being.

He was hunched over a table, studying maps of the Archipelago in hopes of discovering the most likely places where son may be hiding when he felt the ship lurch and sink a couple of inches and the sounds of a scuffle met his ears. Someone had boarded. Grabbing his war hammer, Stoick ran up the stairs to the upper deck and charged through the hatch. Everything was still. There was no fight and no attackers. Even the men were still, frozen where they stood with weapons drawn.

"Their alive." A voice from above reassured.

Stoick glanced up to see a man and a black dragon perched on top of the sails. The man dropped to the deck, engaged a claw on his wrist and held the blades to one of the frozen Berkian's neck.

"However, I can't promise they'll stay that way if you make the wrong move." The man continued.

More out of shock at seeing his son after so long than anything else, Stoick dropped his weapon, "Hiccup?" He whispered.

Satisfied, Hiccup retracted his claws and leaned causally against the mast, "Indeed I am. Its been a while since we've talked."

"Hiccup… I-"

"Save it Stoick. There's only one reason why I'm here."

"Hiccup no!" Stoick shouted, "You need to hear what I have to say."

Hiccup cowered for a second under the sternness in his father's voice out of habit before he caught himself. With resolute determination, he rose into a proud stance and shouted back, "No! You don't get to make demands anymore! You're not the one in power here! What I say goes right now!"

Stoick was stunned at the sudden outburst from this man who had once been his son, the son that been looked down upon by everyone. Two years ago, this would have never happened.

"Hiccup I… I'm sorry… For everything. I was wrong..." Stoick hung his head. "My son."

The apology caught Hiccup off guard. He was prepared for Stoick to hate him, to yell, to fight, but not for this. It seemed wrong for his father to hang his head. His Father was always someone who knew what he was doing, what was best for his people and didn't back down for anything. The sight was making it hard for him to hold his anger against the man.

But this was not some fairy tail where he could just forgive someone for years of wrongdoing and live happily ever after, could it? This was the man that had turned his back on him for so many years. This was the man he had always wanted to make proud, but had ignored him instead. This was the man who had disowned him and forced him from the only home he knew.

Even with his head hung in shame, Stoick could sense the conflicted emotions inside of his son and felt a shred of hope for forgiveness.

 **"NO!"** Hiccup roared at his father and took a bold step toward the bigger man. "You don't get to be forgiven!" He yelled.

Stoick's head snapped up at the sudden outburst and he took a step back. He was feeling something he hadn't felt for a long time, not since that Storm Cutter had broken into his home where his wife and sleeping baby were… Fear. Not fear of the man who stood before him, but from two conflicting worlds.

He was Chief. He needed to make sound judgements based on the good and protection of the tribe, even ones that were hard to make. Yet he was also a father, something that he had neglected for many years, and was now paying the price for. If worse came to worse, could he do it? Could he kill his son and ensure the protection of the whole archipelago? And could he live with himself if he did it? He was afraid, because he didn't know.

Hiccup, seeing the fear clearly written across the Chief's face, took the opportunity to take absolute control of the situation. Taking a quick step forward, he jumped and landed a kick solidly to the Chief's chest and knocked him over. He landed on Stoick's chest and engaged his claw. He left the blades dangling inches from the Chief's head.

"Listen here, this is what your going to do. You and your crew are the only ones in the whole archipelago who can identify me at first sight. I'm am going to make an appearance at the gathering of the Chiefs, but you and your people aren't going to say a word. If any one of them figures out who I am before I'm ready, my dragons will burn the hall to the ground and everyone in it will die."

Stoick, gazing up into the eyes of his son, was reminded of a horrible night years ago. The night a stranger had walked into the midst of a great gathering of the Chieftains, and burned the hall to the ground. Could Hiccup really have become like that man?

"Do. You. Understand?" Hiccup asked with venom in his voice.

Unable to think of a way out of this situation, Stoick merely nodded.

Hiccup stood up, "Good, I'll see you there." Turning, from his father, Hiccup whistled for Toothless, who jumped down from the mast and to his rider's side. Before Stoick could stand up, the two had already disappeared into the night.

o~0~O~0~o

"Shall we get this started then?" Mogadon the Meathead, Chief of the Meathead tribe began. He was currently standing in the Meathead's Great Hall, a building made of wood with stone columns supporting the roof. The place was dimly lit with torches while a giant fire roared in the center of a large table.

With a murmur of agreements, the nine Chiefs and heirs of the archipelago's respective tribes sat down. Stoick, the only one with no heir at his side, was too busy keeping an eye out for his son to answer himself, but he followed the examples of his fellow Chiefs and sat down.

"I have some disturbing news." Mogadon continued once everyone was seated, "New threats have arisen against us."

Though preoccupied with his thoughts about his son, Stoick didn't fail to notice that the Meathead Chief used the plural, as did a few others.

"We have faced armies of men, and we have faced the scourge of dragons many times before and come out on top. Yet never before have we experienced a man, united with dragons, come against us with such force as does Hiccup the Horrendous."

Another murmur of agreement passed through the Chief's before they were quieted by Mogadon.

"As we all know, we are missing Chief Dammen, of the Northlander Tribe, which fell at the hand of Hiccup. However, we are also missing Chief Harek of the Lava Louts as well. When we sent out a message to each of the archipelago's Chiefs, Chief Harek was the only one not to respond. Scouts were sent to the island to see whether or not Hiccup had destroyed them as well. What we found as shocking. The tribe of the Lava Louts is no more."

Yells of outrage and shock sounded throughout the hall, Chief Mogadon had to strain his voice to be heard over the crowd, "BUT NOT BY THE HANDS OF HICCUP!"

Surprised Chiefs turned their heads and clamored for more information about the Lava Lout's fate. Mogadon still had to wait a few moments for those assembled to quite down. Several Chiefs were still standing when he was finaly able to continue, "It appears the Romans have launched a campaign into the archipelago as well. Lava Lout island has been leveled, and a Roman Outpost now stands in its place. My men were able to scout out their fortress, and overheard a few guards mention that a fleet should be arriving soon to resupply the outpost and launch more attacks into the archipelago. I now offer the floor to anyone who has an idea as to how we will defend ourselves?"

Hiccup, hidden in the shadows of the hall's roof, digested the information about the Roman invasion as he listened to the Chief's ludicrous ideas. He smiled a bit when Chief Bragi of the Bashem Oiks suggested a head-on assault, but he was still too focused on how the Romans could fit into his plan to pay it much attention. After a half, The Chiefs were getting nowhere, but Hiccup had the basics of a plan. He could sort out the minuet details later, but now was the time to confront the now bickering Chiefs.

Everyone instantly quieted when the figure dressed in black armour jumped from above and landed in front of them.

Stoick was the first to recover, but Mogadon was the first to speak. "Who are you?"

Good, Stoick was being quiet, so nobody was immediately trying to kill him. "I am the one offering you all a solution to both of your problems."

"And how to you propose to do that?" Chief Bragi yelled out.

"I have my ways. The question is, how much are you willing to pay to keep Hiccup and the Romans out of your hair?"

The Chiefs all looked to each other, but the stranger continued.

"2000 pounds worth of gold a year should be enough to keep me out of your hair. That's what, 8 tribes, so about 250 lbs each. Of course, any ships I find inside of Berk's territorial waters will be taxed still, but I will make sure the Romans stay out of the Archipelago."

The Chiefs stared on as they realized who was standing in front of them. Hiccup only smiled, "Before any of you try something, let me remind you, I didn't just walk in here blindly. There are hundreds of dragons lying in wait. At the first sign of trouble, they'll burn this whole island to the ground."

No one dared move a muscle, they knew what this man was indeed capable of.

"That is, you have an army of dragons at your beck and call and all you want is money?" Big Boobied Bertha, Chieftess of the Bog Burglars asked.

"Yep, that's pretty much it." Hiccup answered.

"Wait, you said eight tribes, there's 9 tribes present here." Chief Norbert of the Hysterics piped up.

"Berk gets no protection. It will be destroyed in due time. But don't worry yourselves over it. Think of what is best for your people."

"Why should they believe you'll leave them alone? You've already taken out the Northlanders!" Stoick yelled.

Murmurs of agreement rose up from the crowd.

Hiccup laughed, "The Northlander Tribe was nothing more than an attention grabber. It means to get you all together and show off what I can do, nothing more. Know this however, I am a man of my word, as I've proven in my dealings with Berk. Whatever I say, I will do. It makes it that much more serious when I issue a threat. Otherwise, you'd never know if I was bluffing or not." Those gathered quieted, "The way I see it, you have two options, either don't pay up and let the Romans or myself kill you all… or give me what I ask for and receive my protection. I'll give you all a week, then I'll pay your tribes a visit. What will it be, deliverance, or annihilation? You decide."

With that said, Hiccup turned from the Chiefs, threw open the doors to the Hall and strolled out into the night. A moment later, the young man disappeared in a black blur.

A week later, not one Chief refused Hiccup's offer.

 **(A/N) I've never read the books, so sorry if I got some of the Chiefs wrong. I did my best. See you all next time eh?**


	29. Chapter 29

**(A/N) And exams are done, so I got this chapter pumped out. Now I just got to start looking for a job. Depending on how that goes will dictate how much writing I get done over the summer So we'll play it by ear.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **5: I guess you could say that.**

 **lightfootk: Thank you. And I'm trying to keep the spelling mistakes down to a minimum, but as you can tell, I'm not the greatest at that.**

 **testedfunguy1172: Thank you, but I'm not god-like in any way. Sorry to disappoint.**

 **Guest 1: Thank you.**

 **Little NightFury17: Yep, that was pretty much the goal with this chapter.**

 **Windrider340: Ya, Hiccup is too insane and hurt in this fanfic to do so. I guess that means bad news for Valka when she shows up. Toklo and her tribe will show up again and we get to see another glimpse of Drago in this chapter.**

 **Guest 2: Good to hear :D**

 **AvadaKedavera613: Good to hear that your back. And yes, lots has happened and may questions have arisen. All will be answered in time. Glad you loved the Polar Bear. Karpok and Toklo were designed to both mirror an contradict Toothless and Hiccup at the same time. I'm not the best at romance stuff, so no mater what I do, I hope I can do the paring justice. Also, I think Night Fury babies would be cute, but I also like the fact that Toothless is so unique and rare. I will never take away from the fact that Toothless is the only Night Fury we ever get to see in canon. And don't you worry, I got too much invested in this to abandon it now.**

 **Dragon Ninja: Good to hear :D**

12 men sat around a horseshoe shaped table in a dimly lit room, talking amongst themselves through translators. Each of them leaders among powerful nations like the Slavic, Asiatic, Sami and more. Each of them brought here by one man.

The door to the room was thrown open, revealing a silhouette of a giant man with dreadlocks against the stars in the sky and allowing the sound of water breaking against the hull of the ship they were on to reach their ears. The man walked into the room and took a seat at the end of the table.

Taking a look around, he saw that everyone was accounted for, save one. Apparently the leader of the Sangilaks had recently been killed on battle, along with his whole army, save for one. The man's mention of a Night Fury and a rider had angered Drago Bludvist enough to wipe the rest of the tribe out. Apparently, this Hiccup fellow was more powerful than he thought.

"Welcome Gentlemen." Drago began. "I just checked with my men, and everything has been going as planned. In the morning, we will begin our attack. Then you will see what my Army can do. Any Questions."

There was a brief chatter as translators worked to quickly inform the various leaders in the room what had ben said.

"Zhǐyǒu yīgè" Ming Di, Emperor of China spoke, "Nǐ wèishéme jiānchí zìshā? Wǒ xiāngxìn wǒ cónglái méiyǒu jiēshòuguò nǐ de jiànyì, zài zhèlǐ jiārù. Rúguǒ bùshì nǐ bǎngjià wǒ gōngjí luómǎ rén! Nǐ shì rènzhēn de ma! Wǒmen dūhuì zài zǎochen sǐwáng!"

The message was translated into several different languages in order for all to hear. "Just one. Why do you insist on suicide? I do believe I never accepted your proposal to join you here. If not for you abducting me. Attacking the Romans! Are you serious! We will all be dead by morning!"

Murmurs of agreement passed through those gathered around. Drago smiled sinisterly.

"You all fear the might of Rome and you have a right to. The fleet were chasing is large. Just over 300 war ships with 200 men aboard each of them and 100 freighters. That's a compliment of 130,000 rowers and 52,000 soldiers. But we have a secret weapon on board our ships. In the morning, my armies will begin their attack while we hang back and watch the battle. When my army reigns victorious, I'll give all you one last chance to accept my proposal. Offer your allegiance wholly to me in exchange for prominent positions in my new empire."

As soon as Drago finished, the translators began their work. He grinned as the leaders around him became paler and paler. However, before the translators could finish, a man barged into the room.

"Drago!" the man called, "You better come see this!"

Growling at the interruption, Drago turned to follow the man. "What." He angrily barked once they were outside. The man pointed to the horizon. What he saw would ruin everything. A large fire was consuming the entirety of the Roman fleet they were following.

"SIGNAL THE OTHERS!" Drago yelled out, "GET IN THERE BEFORE ITS ALL OVER!"

Running over to the front of the ship, Drago grabbed his bull-hook and pounded on a chain leading into the water. Instantly the ship lurched forward and began to drag his small fleet of ships towards the raging inferno.

o~0~O~0~o

Imperial Legate Titus Camilius Encratis, had orders directly from Nero himself to wage war on the Archipelago and bring all those who lived there under the power and authority of Rome, whether Viking or Dragon Rider. He had been given 182,000 men to take over the Barbaric Archipelago. If the Vikings did indeed have dragon mounts, they could be even more of a threat than the Indians had been with their elephant armies before Alexander the Great had brought them under his domain. Titus' duty was to squash this dragon rider threat and become a Hero to all Rome. He would go down in the annals of History as a great man.

That was until the sound of wood tearing itself apart on a reef woke him from where he slept in his bunk. Jumping to his feet, he quickly ran up on deck without bothering to dress himself properly. What he saw when he arrived put any thoughts of glory behind him. All around, ships were beginning to flounder for no apparent reason, including his own he realized as he felt the deck listing to starboard.

Quickly he began to shout orders to his crew to light any torches or lamps they could find to get some light on the situation. Then he ordered a few men to lower the anchors and take a reading on their depth. Finding a signal man, he ordered him to tell the rest of the fleet behind them to turn around. If they had torn out the bottom of the hull on a reef, there was no use in reducing the rest of the fleet to logs on the bottom of the ocean.

The nearby ships quickly followed the example of the flag ship and lit their own torches and fires. Soon, the whole fleet was visible to Titus, what he saw horrified him. Not a single ship had escaped the reef. Several were already half under water. All around him men were lowering life boats and abandoning ship. There weren't enough however, several of them would die.

That's when a nearby crew member tapped him on the shoulder and directed him to look up. He paled at the sight. The stars were gone, blotted out instead by the mass of wings above them.

o~0~O~0~o

The weeks after the meeting with the archipelago's Chiefs had benefited Hiccup greatly. The Vikings, with the exception of Berk had started to view the dragons as their only hope. As a result, no attacks against them had been made since the meeting. Peace between the dragons and Vikings reigned throughout the archipelago for the first time in 300 years, but peace is short lived. The Roman invasion force was fast approaching.

When Hiccup first saw the Romans, he almost couldn't believe his eyes. The number of ships on the sea below him was unbelievable. However, that didn't stop him from ordering the attack.

The first wave of attackers had been the Thunderdrums. They had passed silently below the fleet, easily able to keep up with it before tearing through the bottoms of the ships with their teeth and crushing the wood with their backs. The result had been mass flooding in each and every vessel, causing chaos and confusion. Men were running for the exits and abandoning ship in effort to avoid a watery grave, while centurions and the soldiers underneath of them tried to keep order. Even with the Centurions' best efforts, chaos was the only result as more than 130,000 men panicked with no land in sight.

Then phase two came into effect. Hiccup and Toothless lead the charge with the Night Fury wail that sent full grown and battle-hardened Vikings hiding beneath their beds and fired off the first volley of the night. The mass of dragons hidden in the night sky quickly followed their Alphas and descended on the fleet of war ships with fire blazing. In seconds the entire Roman fleet was a blazing inferno. Men that weren't killed by the fires drowned. Those who managed to escape either fate were plucked from the wood on which they stood or the sea itself and carried up into the night sky with shrieks of fright, never to be seen again.

In all, the fight only lasted 20 minutes and left not a single living soul behind.

o~0~O~0~o

Drago was furious when they reached the Roman fleet. They had arrived within a half hour of the first sighting of the blaze on the horizon, but all that remained were half burnt of water logged bodies and splintered pieces of driftwood. He could clearly see the signs of a dragon attack. They were everywhere, from the burning driftwood to the claw marks on the charred victims.

There was only one problem, there were hardly any dragon corpses. There was one or two here and there, but there should be far more if it was a natural attack. The dragons been coordinated and efficient. Though smarter than any other creature on the planet besides humans, they were not capable of planning like this. They had to have had a human leading them into battle. There was only one man he knew of other than himself who could control the dragons. The man the Vikings were calling Hiccup the Horrendous.

The men of great influence over their various regions had gathered to take in the destruction as well.

Ming Di turned to him and said, "Wǒ xiǎng nǐ bùshì wéiyī yīgè zúgòu yúchǔn de luómǎ dìguó, dàn zhège rén shì shènglì de. Tā gěi wǒ liú xiàle shēnkè de yìnxiàng kàn lái nǐ xiànzài yǒu yīgè jìngzhēng duìshǒu. Dāng zhège rén bèi dài dào nǐ de jiǎoxià shí, huílái gěi wǒ bàojià."

A nearby translator quickly informed Drago as to what the Chinese Emperor had spoken, "I guess you aren't the only one stupid enough to take on the Roman Empire, yet this person was victorious. He has impressed me. It seems you now have a competitor. Come back to me with your offer when this person is brought beneath your feet."

Not bothering to hide his temper, Drago replied, "He will be brought low, don't you worry."

o~0~O~0~o

There are many islands in the Barbaric Archipelago. On of the larger uninhabited ones that Hiccup referred to as Dragon's Edge, housed a long dormant volcano and a vast evergreen forest. The sun was rising when the flock of dragons, lead by Hiccup and Toothless, all made for the volcano's crater, but not one of them was empty handed. Each one carried a living man who had lost all hope and deposited them in front of their Alphas. With their jobs done, the dragons flew off and watched from the rim of the crater.

When every dragon had deposited their catch, Hiccup had about 1000 people standing before him.

Raising his voice so that he could be heard by everyone, he spoke, "DO ANY OF YOU SPEAK NORSE?"

No one answered so he grabbed the nearest man and held his sword to his throat, "ALRIGHT. IF NO ONE ANSWERES I'LL JUST HAVE TO START KILLING PEOPLE."

There was a commotion in the crowd as several people began pushing a man to the front. The man resisted, attempting to disappear into the midst of the people, but Hiccup already had his eye on the individual. Pushing the man he had in his hands to the side, he called out, "You! What is your name?"

The man turned and Hiccup almost thought he recognized the man. "Skuld Loutisson."

Hiccup widened his eyes in realization, he did know the man. "What is the Chief of the Lava Louts doing in a Roman Fleet?"

Skuld answered, "I am a slave among them. I've spent the last several months in Rome where I've been forced to do hard labour as well as learn their language. When the Romans sent a fleet North to annex the Barbaric Archipelago, I was sent with them as a warning to what would happen to the other tribes if they don't join willingly." Though scared, he kept a brave face on. A necessity of being Chief.

Hiccup nodded, "Come with me on a walk."

The man obediently followed Hiccup, though he was hesitant when the Night Fury joined them. However, the dragons hadn't killed them yet, even though they had every opportunity to do so.

"Do you know who I am?" Hiccup asked.

Skuld nodded, "Hiccup, son of Stoick the Vast."

"Son no longer. Your people, what happened to them?"

"A few died tonight, a small handful were brought here by the dragons. The rest were brought to a quarry near Rome and were put to hard labour."

Hiccup nodded, "I have business that must be done in Rome now that I have destroyed this fleet. We don't want another stronger one arriving next year. I could free your people and reinstate you on your island." Skuld looked at the man in front of him in shock, but before he could answer, Hiccup continued. "All I would need is your allegiance to me. Of course, the Romans I brought here would be put under your command as slaves with dragons to help enforce your rule."

Skuld couldn't believe it. This was to good to be true. His old life could be returned to him and his people, but better. Those who once oppressed them would now be oppressed by them and the dreaded dragons would be helping them instead of hindering them. That is of course, if the beasts could be trusted, but he supposed he could give it a try for the greater good of his people.

"Your terms are agreeable. If you free my people, we will follow your leadership." Skuld Loutisson, Chief of the Lava Louts replied as he kneeled in front of Hiccup the Horrendous.

 **(A/N) I know the Chinese Emperor I used was not around at the same time as Emperor Nero, but Emperor Nero wasn't around at the same time as the Vikings, so... Point is, I'm playing around with history, so I don't really care about the inconsistency**


	30. Chapter 30

**(A/N) Sorry guys. So, so sorry its been so long with nothing from me. I've been working two jobs over the summer and haven't had much time to write. As much as I hate to say it, updates over the summer are going to be very sporadic. I'll try and get a few chapters pre-written today, but no promises. When school starts up again in the fall I should have more time to write. Don't worry, I'm still very much invested in this and plan to see it through until the end.**

 **Also, for those of you who are wondering and can' send me a private message to ask, I posted the pairing I plan on doing on my profile. Some of you may be angry with it, but either way I would have people angry at me. I'll explain my full reasoning when it is revealed in the story later on.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **when darkness meets light: Yes, I used google translate, I don't speak any Chinese actually.**

 **Brenne: Drago and Hiccup will be interesting. Can't ait to write it.**

 **Guest 1: Yet you still read it. I know there are people that think it is a horrible story, and I don't really care. I might care a bit more if people started attaching names to their hate comments, but they always choose to remain behind anonymity.**

 **Little NightFury17: Your half right.**

 **mc arno: Merci**

 **Skony7: Thank you. I like bad Hiccup as well.**

 **Isolde Thorston: Thank you for giving my story a chance. I'm glad your liking it. I do have plans for a sequel actually and some aspects of what you suggested I do have in my plot outline. You'll just have to see where I go with my story.**

 **Techesh: Yep, Berk is in big trouble.**

 **AvadaKedavra613: Things are getting interesting, and Hiccup is actually 17, I made a mistake in a previous chapter I have to fix. He will be 18 soon though. There will be a major battle coming, don't worry. As for Valka, she will be making an appearance. I don't have as much respect for her character though to be honest. I kind of wish she had stayed dead in cannon. And my goal for Hiccup was for him to be a likable bad guy that people can also hate, depending on the way you read this story. And here will be a pairing, I just like to keep secrets.**

 **repsak12: Thank you**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you**

 **lightfook: Hahaha, nice. Glad to hear your enjoying this so much.**

 **Windrider340: Lol. I'm actually mixing history though, while Vikings and Romans did coexist, the Roman empire was on the decline. It was spilt into 3 different kingdoms I believe and not as ell known for its military accomplishments. I choose to use the Roman Empire when it was at the height of power with Nero, which was long before the Vikings existed.**

 **Thearizona: Thank you. He is one smart SOB isn't he? Valka will be interesting. I hope I catch the moment well enough.**

"Sir!" Skuld Loutisson called to Hiccup the Horrendous from the mouth of the cave. He would never get used to the sight of seeing the unholy offspring of lightning and death snoozing peacefully by the side of the young man. Both were practically invisible in the dim light.

Hiccup looked up from a set of blueprints he had been making a few last adjustments on and beckoned the Chief to come in.

He had not bothered to head back to Outcast island in the weeks since his attack on the Roman fleet, though he had stayed in contact through the use of Terrible Terrors. A story about tracking a rare and powerful dragon had been made up to keep them from asking any questions.

He and the remaining Lava Louts had used the slaves to build a stronghold within the dormant volcano they had landed in. The volcano would be a secret fall back they could retreat to in case the situation called for it. The place was equipped with many defenses tailored to favour dragons, had a spring of fresh water continuously pouring in and would be stocked with enough food to keep an army fed for up to three years. Plenty of Escape tunnels had been dug by Whispering Deaths that would allow for a quick getaway if needed.

The current plan was to complete the stronghold, rescue the rest of the Lava Louts and then retake Lava Lout island, securing once and for all the loyalty of the Lava Louts to him.

"You have news for me Skuld?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes my Lord. That slave, Titus, the one who claims to be their leader has been causing disturbances again. Seems he rallied a few men to collapse one of the storage rooms this time. He continues to demand an audience with you."

Hiccup sighed, "That man has become quite a nuisance. Very well then, send him in. At the very least it will give me a chance to practise some of the Latin you've been teaching me."

"Yes sir."

Anything else you have for me?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes sir. Seems a young lass landed on our shores about 15 minutes ago. She had a beast with her like none I've ever seen. We were going to take her captive and bring her to you, but then she mentioned you by name."

Hiccup, intrigued, leaned forward a bit and chuckled, "Good thing you didn't try and approach her with the sword. If its who I think it is, your blood would be staining the grass at this moment." Skuld scoffed at this statement, but Hiccup let it pass. He would learn. "Send her in right away!" Hiccup ordered.

"As you wish my Lord." Skuld said as he bowed respectively and exited the room.

Moments later, a familiar face entered the cave, followed by a massive white bear.

"Toklo!" Hiccup greeted in Inuit. It would keep anyone listening in from eavesdropping on their conversation. "Its good to see you again."

"Hello Hiccup. Nice… cave. You really take this whole dragon thing seriously don't you?"

Hiccup laughed, "It's just temporary. Were building it as a stronghold just in case. Seems unlikely that we'll need it, but it pays to be prepared."

Toklo nodded in respect, "The letter you sent my father hinted at a possible military expansion in the future."

"Yes, I have reason to suspect that the archipelago will be under a new government soon. As you have seen, I already have a few loyal to me and many slaves. However, if my plans are to continue, there are some matters that must be attended to. A quick trip to Rome for instance."

"Rome?"

"Yes, seems I need to deal with a certain emperor who believes the barbaric archipelago would be a good place to expand his empire. It's difficult to manage my interests here while I'm off tending to matters elsewhere. I need someone I can trust, someone who will stand by my side and help lead us to greatness. That is why I sent word to your father. You and Your tribe may be the only people on this earth that I fully trust. I need someone who can manage an army, a second in command who will be in charge of everything, from the slaves, to the dragons, to the tribes loyal to me."

"That is exactly why my father sent me. He saw a leader in me from a young age and strived to develop those traits. I think he planned on setting me up on the Tribe's council when my brother took over as Chief."

Hiccup nodded, "If your father thinks your up to the task, I'll trust his judgement. I wont hide anything from you. If you accept my offer, it wont be easy. There will be many people coming to you to solve their problems and you will have to make many questionable decisions. You will be privy to information that most people would frown upon. There will be horrible secrets that you must keep and many people will hate you. However, you will be someone that people look up to as well. You will be respected and feared. You would have full access to anything within my power. You would have the authority to dictate where my resources go and what they are used for. That is something I'm sure your people would benefit greatly from. Are you up to the task?"

Toklo smiled, "Its what I came here for isn't it?"

Hiccup nodded, satisfied, "Good, I'll let you take care of this then."

"What?"

"Skuld!" Hiccup called out as he switched back to Norse.

"Yes my Lord?" Skuld questioned as he popped his head back inside the cave.

"Send in Titus."

"Yes sir!"

Moments later, a man in shackles was brought before them by armed guards. A combination of weeks of hard work, digging tunnels and moving rock, the absence of good nutrition and the lack of sunlight had altered the man's appearance drastically. Gone was the image of a strong, handsome leader. In its place was a tired man with pale skin and weakened, but still toned, muscles. Yet even in his deteriorated condition, he still radiated confidence and determination. He stood up straight and held his head high.

"Leave us." Hiccup told the guards, "We'll be fine."

The guards quickly bowed and left.

Titus took a quick look around the cave, noting the two deadly animals and the two people in the room. He quickly identified the man as the one he came to see. The one who had took them all captive and was most likely a high ranking official. He had become known as the General to the slaves. Yet looking at the man seated on the throne, he was starting to have second thoughts about his status as just a general.

The woman was someone he had not seen before, but by the way she stood at the man's side, she was probably a high ranking official as well.

"Where's the translator?" Titus asked.

"No need." The man answered in Latin, catching Titus off guard. "State your reason for coming before me."

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. I am a Roman citizen. A high ranking one at that. I'm an Imperial Legate. I was in charge of that entire armada. I demand to be treated as such, not as a slave. When Emperor Nero finds out about this, he will send his entire army to come free us."

Hiccup laughed, "What makes you think Nero will risk his entire army for a thousand men?"

"He will have to. If the people of Rome find out that he knew about us and did nothing, they would be furious with him. Being a Roman citizen is everything, but if they find out he did nothing, they would no longer trust him. They wouldn't feel safe in their own houses. It wont be long before he discovers us missing. He will be coming. However, if you let me and my men go, Nero doesn't have to know a thing."

Hiccup scoffed, "You say all this on the pretext that I fear Rome. I have news for you, I don't. I'm not even letting Nero have the decency of coming to me next time. I will be coming to him, and he will acknowledge my power. No, you shall not go free."

The Roman was at an utter lose for words as Hiccup dismissed his demands.

Turning to Toklo, Hiccup spoke, this time in Norse, "This man is apparently the leader of the slaves, and responsible for many disturbances in the tunnels, from destroying progress to leading revolts. It seems he believes his Roman citizenship should get him out of any situation, including that of being a slave. He thinks I should be afraid of Nero and the Roman Empire. Show him otherwise. The way you go about it is up to you."

Toklo nodded as Hiccup turned his head towards the cave's mouth, "Skuld!" He shouted.

The Chief quickly entered.

"Skuld, this is Toklo, an old friend of mine. I met her in a foreign land. We fought and trained together. She is my second in command. You will do whatever she says."

Skuld glanced over to the woman. He was clearly not happy with this turn of events, but he respected Hiccup's orders. "As you wish my Lord. Lady Toklo, my services are at your disposal."

Toklo nodded and turned to the slave before them. She only hesitated for a minute before giving her orders, "Take this man and break him down. Whip him, beat him and starve him. Lock him in isolation and in the darkness. Break his spirit and the rest of the slaves will quiet down."

"Yes my Lady." Skuld answered and turned to fulfill her orders. Seconds later, the guards from before entered with whips. Titus' cries of pain were watched over by Toklo herself, long into the night.

 **(A/N) Well there you have it, another update (Finally). Next stop, the Roman Empire. It was going to happen this chapter originally, but I wanted to get this out there seeing as I was so far behind. Just out of curiosity, who can guess where I'm going next chapter?**


	31. Chapter 31

**(A/N) And I'm back with another chapter. I just want to say, were at 196 follows! Only four away from 200! This is awesome guys and gals! Thank you all for the support this story has been getting. It makes writing this fanfic so much more fun to write when I see the how many people love this story. I've visited every single one of your pages and have found many good stories myself by doing so. I love hearing from you guys, let me know what you think about a chapter or what a character is doing or give me ideas of what you want to see. Lets see if we can get to 200 follows before I post the next chapter. Enjoy.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **5: Hope I delivered well enough for you.**

 **AvadaKedavra613: I didn't know such a Titus existed, I just went to a random name generator and found I liked it and so my character was named. I'll have to look into that guy though an see what I can learn from him. But no, I'm mixing history here a lot. Vikings didn't exist at the same time as Nero. Also, that was my goal, to see if I could make some people believe Toklo was Astrid. We will see some more of Astrid soon though. I like to keep my secrets though, so no telling who the ship will be and when Valka will be making an appearance.**

 **Brenne: Hope your satisfied with how I portrayed things.**

 **Guest 1: Oh boy, where do I start… How about with history. Some of man's most heinous acts have been done behind a mask or paint. They're identity is hidden and therefore they have no responsibility to what they have done. The Lord of the Flies being an example in fiction, but the KKK and the cannibals in Papua New Guinea for example. That's no always the case, Hitler being an prime example, but it can be a big factor. When you aren't visible there, its almost as if you aren't there at all. I'm in no way comparing those acts to people giving me flack for this story. But, a majority of the people here put a lot of work and effort into this site behind their monikers. If they're anything like me, they put a bit of their identity behind their username. My real name is Conner, but I am Canadian and I love 1969 dodge chargers, hence CdnChrgr. People make a name for themselves with various stories they write and reviews they post. Whatever they say can reflect on who they are online and can affect who reads what if they get a bad reputation. As a guest, you have no fear of anything you write coming back to bite you in the butt later on down the road. I have proof about what I'm saying as well. Of all the people that have given me flack for writing this story, every single one of them has been a Guest reviewer. Not one person with a username has come against me. I wouldn't care about this issue so much if these guest reviewers would do one thing for me, leave some sort of identifying mark so I can know which Guests I'm having a conversation or debate with and which Guests are a one time come and go type of thing.**

 **Also, as far as the pairing thing goes, you just contradicted yourself. You'll be angry no matter what I do. However, I assure you, Astrid will have a strong role in this fanfic no matter what and I will give a full explanation when the time comes. For now, I'd rather not give out that information.**

 **Techesh: Thank you for backing me up. I'm assuming this is a guy I know in real life and therefore knows the plot, so listen to him.**

 **OechnerC: Thank you.**

 **Little NightFury17: Will do.**

 **Lightfootk: Thank you for the compliments.**

Chapter 31

Guards in iron armor and feathered helmets clanked loudly after their leader as he tore furiously down the ornately furnished hallways. Emperor Nero was not in a good mood that night. His vacation in Antium was ruined now.

It seemed there was a few people that weren't happy with him in Rome and had been drunkenly calling him out for a few of his past 'misdeeds.' It hadn't been long before a crowd had gathered around and a riot had threatened to break out. The matter had been handled quickly by his soldiers, but social unrest in the city was growing. It would only be a matter of time before things escalated further. He needed to fix this fast, which meant he needed to head back to Rome.

He paused briefly outside his bedroom to order his guards to leave him alone before throwing open the door. As soon as he entered, he knew something was wrong. The fire was cold and not a single candle was lit. Not only that, but the door to his balcony that overlooked the sea was open, revealing a full moon and a star filled sky.

Shivering a little from the night air, Nero yelled for his two maidservants who were supposed to be tending the room, Orania and Petillia. Neither answered. Scowling to himself, Nero resolved to build his own fire. He was Emperor after all, he didn't need anyone's help.

He fumbled around in the dark for a minute, looking for flint and steel and some timber.

"Need a light?" A nasally voice sounded out of the darkness just as a blue flame erupted in the center of the room.

Nero turned to meet the stranger who had invaded his private quarters. The man was tall, about 5'7" and dressed in black armor, had dark hair and stood with a sword made of fire. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the bodies of his two maidservants at the man's feet.

"GUARDS!" Nero yelled in alarm.

The doors to the room burst open and two men rushed to their Emperor's aid. A flash of blue light erupted from the center of the room, accompanied by a high-pitched wail. The action was so sudden that neither of the two guards had time to scream in alarm as they were incinerated by a blast of plasma.

With a burning blue fire at the door blocking off the only means of escape, Nero turned to the man, "An Assassin I assume?"

The man laughed, "If I was an Assassin, you would have never even known I was here and they would have never found your body."

"A messenger than?"

"No, I'm the one who sending a message."

Nero narrowed his eyes at this obvious threat, "Who are you."

"A man concerned for your safety."

"My safety?"

"More the safety of your Empire."

"And what news could you have that would threaten my Empire's security?"

"That fleet you sent to the Barbaric Archipelago…"

Nero was taken back at this, that was a top secret operation.

The man continued, "It was destroyed."

"And how could you know this?"

"I was the one to destroy it." The man answered, "It took me less than 20 minutes to burn the whole fleet actually. Only a thousand survived, and only because I needed slaves."

"You've come to me, killed my maidservants and guards, and tell me that you've destroyed my entire invasion fleet. I'm guessing you want to do more than just to brag? What is it you want?"

"It's simple really." The man answered, "I have a vested interest in the Barbaric Archipelago, and what I don't need is some power hungry, egotistic Emperor repeatedly sending invasion fleets for me to destroy. I have two options. One, I can simply invade now and take over, leaving the Barbaric Archipelago for another day. Or two, I can make an agreement with you. You don't disturb me, and I don't disturb you. I have no interests here, or in a long drawn out war. You may keep your Empire. My interests lie only in the Archipelago. All you have to do to keep the peace in your homeland is stay out of mine."

Nero laughed at this, "You think you can barge into my home, wave a flaming sword around and expect to tell me how to run my Empire? Let me tell you something kid, your talking to Nero, Emperor of the Roman Empire, a god on earth. I have the authority of an army rivaled by no other on earth and by Zeus himself. I don't even know your name, let alone who you are."

The man laughed, "A god, really? There's no such thing as the gods. I used to believe in them, a lot of good it did. It wasn't until I started relying on myself that things started to happen. But to answer your question, no... I didn't. I was hoping, for your sake, but prepared nonetheless. I have a challenge for you Nero. Pick a city, any city. Make sure its heavily defended and hard to take. The choice is yours. By this time tomorrow, that city will be burning."

Nero nearly scoffed at this. It would be impossible to immobilise an army anywhere in a day, let alone burn a city down. However, as he thought about it, this challenge could be the perfect way to earn some points with his people. This arrogant fool's miniscule army, coming to burn a well defended city, only to be outright destroyed by his own troops, an extension of his mighty hand. The people would be eating out of his palm then.

He had the perfect city in mind, one he was already having problems with. A city that already had an army stationed there. A city that would be easy to defend.

Nero smiled and spoke one word, "Rome."

There were no rogue fleets in the Mediterranean Sea and no troop movements had been sighted anywhere near the city. They only way to attack it in time would be to rush a fleet in from the Atlantic Ocean and rush the Eastern shore. There was 30 miles of land in between the city and the sea in which his army would easily destroy the attackers before they eve reached the outer walls. It was the perfect set-up.

The man nodded and turned towards the balcony, his figure illuminated by the still burning doors that several people were now attempting to put out. "Rome it is then. By this time tomorrow, it will be in flames and you will know my power. The power of Hiccup the Horrendous… and his dragon army." he threatened before leaping over the balcony.

Nero ran to the railing to catch sight of the suicidal man who threatened him, fall to his death. It was a 50 foot drop over a cliff onto jagged rocks after all, but all he saw was a large black shadow racing over the ocean below.

o~0~O~0~o

"My Lord." Skuld greeted Hiccup, "I assume everything went as planned?"

"It went splendidly." Hiccup answered, "It was easier to manipulate him than it was Alvin. The men you hired caused enough unrest to make him choose Rome as the target. He thinks he's in control and has the better of me. It will be his downfall."

"Excellent. I just wish I could be around to see his face when he realises he's lost."

"Unfortunately, we both have other duties to attend to. How are things going on your end? I'd hate to hear that something screwed up this close to the attack."

"No need to worry my Lord, the last of the Lava Louts in Roman households throughout the land was freed tonight. All that remain are those in the quarry. Word his been spread that we're breaking them out tomorrow night."

"And the soldiers stationed there?" Hiccup inquired.

"Being relocated to Rome for the defense as we speak, just as you predicted. There shouldn't be any resistance tomorrow."

"Good. Remember, no survivors. Get your people and kill the rest. Your escape rout is still intact?"

"Yes sir. The port you selected is virtually free of soldiers right now. There also heading to Rome. It should be easy to over-run it and make off with some ships."

"Splendid. Burn the ships you don't take."

"As you wish my Lord."

Hiccup nodded, "Now go. Make any last-minute preparations you need. I'm off to Rome."

o~0~O~0~o

Rome is a big place, full of many people and great architecture. Blacksmiths were busy pounding iron late into the night. The rich were making merry and the poor were following suit as well as they could. Many were busy with the last of their chores before turning in for the night. All was peaceful.

The atmosphere was broken as one of the many squads of soldiers in the city marched by on high alert. They had been told to expect an attack from above that night, so their heads had been to the sky all night.

No one noticed the rat scurry into the shadows of the alleyway as they passed. A rat in a city this size was not to be unexpected and was passed over without a second glance. The only, problem, this was no ordinary rat. It had scales instead of fur, large yellow eyes, wings and a nasty burb.

The Terrible Terror, one of the many that had invaded the city unseen that night was waiting for the signal. It came in the form of a fearsome roar in the night sky. Every soldier's eyes scanned the sky for the incoming attackers. They all missed the short bursts of flame erupt from hundreds of mouths across the entire city.

Small fires erupted in a plethora of places around the great city. A barn full of hay here, a pile of trash there. The wooden supports on the back of a house. Small discrete fires that would quickly grow into an out of control blaze. With their shot limits reached and their work done, the Terrors fled the scene before anyone started looking for them.

The night air was punctuated by a scream as someone woke to their house ablaze. The crackling of fire grew louder and louder as the fires grew in size and engulphed entire structures. Small explosions from the dried wood of buildings cast sparks several feet and grew the blaze into an inferno.

People ran from their homes in terror, some burning alive. Others dropped to the ground from the smoke that quickly invaded their lungs and lay still. Soldiers caught in the blaze did they're best to save who they could and organize an evacuation, but several of them, slowed down by the armor they wore as protection, were cooked alive inside the iron. Few who were caught in the fire's opening minutes survived the blaze.

Hiccup watched on as the blaze engulphed first one city block, then another. Soon, the entire 15 block radius he had targeted was engulphed in flames which were quickly spreading to others. Turning to the dragon by his side, he nodded. The dragon said nothing in return and just watched the blaze. They're mission had been completed, and no one had seen what they'd done, but Nero would know. He wasn't invincible. They could touch him and he would now know it.

The fire would last for 6 days before being brought under control and most of the city would suffer damage. Only four of Rome's 14 districts would escape unharmed and three would be a complete loss. Over time, the blaze would become known as the Great Fire of Rome.

 **(A/N) Well, what did you guys think of that? Nero's reaction and Hiccup's return to the archipelago next chapter, then, the chapter after that, some more of Astrid. Yay. Been wanting to write this scene for a while and I'm glad its finally done.**

 **Also, Hiccup's ideas about the gods are only half of my own. I am a Christian, so I believe in a supernatural deity, but only one. The gods have no power, or at least very little. They are wood and stone, and that is all. Demons may come to people and act like these gods for a time, but the only power they have is the very little God (emphasis in the capital G) has given them. They have no authority at all. These days, idols are not a huge part of our lives, but they still show up. On wall street there is a statue of a bull, which in Biblical times, was a sign of Baal. Baal was the calf god who was associated with wealth. Coincidence? You decide, but I believe the Devil is up to his old tricks again. His attacks don't really change much over the years.**

 **Idols don't have to take the shape of a statue though. They just have to be something were devoted too. Your phone could be an idol, or it could be a celebrity. An idol is something we think is more important than God.**

 **That's just my little rant for this chapter. For those who don't hold my same views, I know it probably won't hold much authority with them, but I had to say this.**


	32. Chapter 32

**(A/N) Hey guys, I'm back, and can I just say WOW! You guys are awesome! Not only did we reach 200 follows, but we went well over to 215 followers! Thank you all for the tremendous support I've been getting when writing this story. It means a lot and keeps me writing.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **The Guest who reviewed chapter 28: I don't recall ever saying that I write just to irritate people. I've written this story to be controversial to get people thinking and inspire good conversations. I do find it hilarious when people use the same arguments that I've already shot down over and over again and get super mad about Hiccup's character. I mean, I like Hiccup's character as well, but seriously, he's a made-up person. There is no such thing as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. I mean it's not like I turned the Virgin Mary into a Satanist or something.**

 **Guest who reviewed chapter 31: That's the point.**

 **LameJokeGuy: Thank you for understanding. Future Guests who want to just say this story is stupid, listen to this guy.**

 **When darkness meets light: Yes I did and thanks.**

 **Lightfook: Thank you.**

 **Brenne: Thank you, and you'll just have to keep reading.**

 **AvadaKedavera613: didn't know that and thank you.**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you.**

 **Frost: That could have helped, too bad Hiccup isn't on his side. And thanks.**

 **Watching-The-Nox-Dreamer: thank you for the compliments.**

 **Samateus-Taal: Thank you.**

 **nsturge: Thank you. I've tried keeping the pairing a secret, but have really been doing a horrible job of doing so to be honest. I don't think you'll be disappointed though.**

 **Ayuuni: Thank you for the compliments. As for the history stuff, I've admitted to having a little bit of historical inaccuracies. The Chinese Emperor Ming shouldn't actually be in either the Roman or Viking time period either, but I figured if Cressida Cowell can do it, so can I. Also, did you spell that THRE word wrong? I actually have no idea what you're talking about. Can you also let me know which chapter that is in so I can go take a look at it myself? And don't worry about the nitpicking, I enjoy history as well.**

 **Chapter 32**

It was still dark out when Hiccup arrived at the port city of Portus. Situated 20 miles southeast of Rome, the city was left poorly defended in order to protect the capital. It was ripe for the taking.

He landed in a group of just over 300 men, women and children, startling many. They all wore torn clothing and were skin and bones, remnants of the once proud tribe known as the Lava Louts and now freed slaves. Making his way quickly through them, he soon found Skuld, tending to an injured young man, no doubt hurt while working in a Roman quarry.

"Skuld, I take it your mission was a success?" Hiccup asked.

The Lava Lout Chief straightened and turned to his leader, "Yes my Lord. You were correct about taking the Nadders, they did quick precise work. We didn't lose a single man or dragon in the attack on the quarry."

"Good. Are we ready to take out the city?"

"I believe so my Lord. There's only 10 soldiers guarding the town at the moment and there all stationed in one place. There's one lookout on the wall and the rest are sleeping inside of it."

Hiccup nodded, "It should be easy to take it then. Toothless," Hiccup turned to his dragon, "have the Whispering Deaths attack the wall from below."

The Night Fury acknowledged and let out a few roars to direct the dragons.

Turning back to the Chief, Hiccup handed out more orders, "Get your people moving. Get help for those who can't walk there themselves and arm those who can fight. We have some ships to take.

The battle was over before it started. Whispering Deaths quickly tore through the wall's foundations and brought it tumbling down. The Lava Louts then forced their way through the town. Few put up a resistance to the men and dragons marching through town. Those who did were quickly slaughtered. In less than 15 minutes, they had reached the docks.

Hiccup choose three ships, all large freighters that would be sturdy in the roughest conditions. Loading each and every person on board, they quickly set sail for open ocean as Thunderdrums and Scauldrons sank any ship that could chase them at their moorings. It was a clean getaway.

o~0~O~0~o

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT JUST WENT UP IN FLAMES!" Nero yelled at a table full of military advisors. "A WHOLE CITY DOESN'T JUST GO UP IN FLAMES! WHERE WERE THE DRAGONS?!"

"There were none." A man to Nero's left, whose name was Burrass, replied, "Not one soldier who survived the blaze saw a thing. One minute, all was calm, the next, the whole place was an inferno. We were watching the sky like you said, but the attack didn't come from there. Whoever did this, knew what they were doing."

Nero sighed and sat down in his chair, "What about the fire itself? Is it under control yet?"

"No sir." Another man spoke up, "Rome is still burning like a candle."

"Knock down buildings in it's path, form water brigades', divert aqueducts. Do whatever you can to put it out and get it under control. Order the soldiers to set up temporary hospitals and organize refugee camps. Make sure the people are looked after."

"Yes sir!" the man turned to carry out the Emperor's orders.

"Sir," Nero turned to the man who had addressed him, Seneca, a Philosopher, "If I may, this new enemy, Hiccup as you called him, is giving you a message. He can strike anything he wants, when he wants and from the place you least expect it. It would not be wise to let him live."

"I know that Seneca," Nero turned to another man seated at the table, "Caius, how soon can we have an invasion fleet ready? I want every single Ship, Soldier and war machine we have on this. Hiccup won't stand a chance."

"Sir, that would leave us heavily undefended, what if someone decides to attack during their absence?"

"Then we attack back when the army returns, how soon?"

"3 months and they can all be here, 5 months and they can set sail."

"Good, get to it!"

The men quickly stood up and scrambled to amass the army.

o~0~O~0~o

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup looked from the railing of the ship to Skuld surprised, the Chief usually addressed him as Sir, or Lord, something was up. He observed the man suspiciously before replying, "What is it Skuld?"

"Some of the men were wondering, did we really do enough to make Nero think twice about coming back to the archipelago? I mean, he does have the whole of the Roman Empire at his disposal.

Relaxed somewhat by the question, Hiccup turned back to the railing, "No. He'll be coming back with intent to wipe us out."

"Well then, could we beat him?"

"No, not yet anyways."

"What about that dragon that can destroy entire islands?" Skuld asked, almost sounding like he was pleading.

"No. She's no where near ready for battle. The Roman's have weapons that could easily take her out." Hiccup replied.

"What!" Skuld screamed as he pulled out his sword and held it to the man, "You've signed our death warrants then!"

Hiccup turned so fast, the Chief didn't even register when the blade was ripped from his grasp. The sight of Hiccup before him was terrifying. His eyes were ablaze with fury, his posture rigid, displaying power and authority. His hand gripped the sword by the blade, a trickle of blood trailing down the length of the sword going unnoticed by the young man.

"You watch your tone!" Hiccup spoke with fury in his voice. "Do you know who you're talking to? How easy it would be to replace you? I have Nero right where I want him! This is the problem with you Vikings! You fail to grasp the big picture! Where did you think I was these last few weeks? I was preparing, covering our tracks! Nero won't be able to follow us for several years! If we're lucky, he may even be dethroned. _Everything_ , is under, control."

"I-I'm sorry sir! I-I should have known better." Skuld stuttered.

"Next time you want to question my plans… Don't!"

o~0~O~0~o

This was it, time to tell the lie that would make him rich, Anatolio Rigas mused as he passed through the courtyard of Ioanna Manou, the widow of Admetus Manou, a rich business man had been heavily invested in livestock. Ioanna had taken over for her late husband after his death, but invested more in the town of Salerno, Italy where she lived rather than in livestock. She supported many charities and was a prominent citizen, adored by all. That was partly why Anatolio was here, that and the fact that he knew Ioanna had family in Rome.

Anatolio was an aspiring Greek businessman, trying to climb the ladder of fortune in any way possible. He had been well invested in certain mining operations, furniture and wares. Things had been going well, until he had decided to invest heavily in agriculture, right before the Egyptians had reaped in a record-breaking harvest and flooded the market, leaving him with bushels upon bushels of wheat and barley.

That was when a mysterious stranger had stepped into the picture. This man was unknown to him and from the digging around that he had done, no one had heard of him. Yet this man had made him an offer, proven he had the means to fulfill the terms of the contract and they had struck a deal. This man, who called himself Hiccup, had offered to become a major buyer of his wares, especially wheat and barley in return for one thing, which was why he was here.

"Anatolio, how are you?" Ioanna greeted with open arms as she invited him in. The two were great friends. Ioanna had actually been the one to see potential in him and get him up on his feet, which was why he felt bad about lying to her, but he figured she wouldn't be hurt in this, so it was ok.

"I'm doing great Ioanna, how are you?" Anatolio asked the older woman.

"Oh, there's new aches and pains making themselves known, but I'm getting along fine. Sure makes an old woman look forward to going home to be with the Lord."

Ah yes, there it was, Anatolio smiled, Ioanna's new found religion in this Christian Sect. Seemed she could hardly get a word in without mentioning this Jesus fellow.

"What can I do for you today Anatolio?" Ioanna asked.

"I'm sure you're aware of the fire in Rome?"

"Ah yes, been burning for four days now hasn't it?"

"Yes, they're getting it under control, but there has been a great loss of life and infrastructure I'm afraid."

The woman furrowed her brows in worry, "Oh those poor souls. I've been praying for them everyday."

"I can imagine. The Emperor's doing lots, providing shelter and medical treatments for those affected, but there are many that lost everything in the fire."

"The poor dears."

"I was hoping to make a difference in the lives of some of those affected."

"Oh?"

"I'm collecting money to give to those in need. I've donated a large sum myself, but we need more to help get people back on their feet after things start settling down."

"Say no more. We are told to give generously and selflessly **[1]** , I'll do what I can."

Anatolio smiled, "I wouldn't ask for anything more."

"Do they know what caused the fire yet?" Ioanna asked.

This was it, Ioanna was a generous giver and a sweet old lady, but she had a fault when it came to gossip. "No one's really sure, though there are rumors going around that Nero himself started the fire in order to rebuild Rome the way he wants it."

Ioanna's hand shot to her mouth in shock, "No. It can't be. I can't imagine anyone, even Nero being that self-centered."

"I don't know, but it is odd. Nero seemed more prepared than he should have been."

"What do you mean?"

"Well for instance, all the soldiers that arrived in the city just a day before the fire. Then there's the fact that all the food storages in case of attack had been opened, like he knew the people would be needing it soon and they would have to be moved. Then there's the fact that the evacuation was quick and easy, plus his efficiency in gathering those who were displaced. It almost seemed like it was planned."

"No… it can't be."

"I don't know anything for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if Nero was dancing and playing the fiddle when it happened."

The conversation would go on from there and last a few hours before Anatolio would say his farewells. He would go around to other prominent businessmen and woman, genuinely collecting donations, which actually did go to the victims while spreading the rumors at the same time. A few people hung on to them like gold and continued to spread the word. It wasn't long before crowds began to gather and demand for answers. Nero was in trouble.

o~0~O~0~o

"Sir!" Skuld called out, shivering a little from the cold, night air.

Hiccup turned to face the Chief, pleased that the familiar sir was attached to his name. He'd be watching the Chief however. "What is it Skuld?"

"Five warships, dead ahead and closing fast."

"Keep sailing, I'll handle this."

"Aye Sir!" Skuld replied and turned to tend to the ship.

Hiccup gave a quick whistle, calling to Toothless, who ran up to his rider and tacked him to the ground.

"Toothless!" Hiccup laughed as the dragon started licking him playfully. "Cut it out bud, you know that stuff doesn't wash out." The dragon ignored him however and continued to lick him. "Alright Toothless, you win!"

 **"You got that right. No one beats the mighty Night Fury."**

"Let's hope that includes Romans, we got work to do."

The Night Fury regretfully let his rider up.

"Ya, I know bud. We'll go for a nice long flight after this, sound good?"

The dragon gave his signature toothless grin and a soft coo as an answer.

 **"So, what do you want me to do? Blast those boats to bits or what?"**

"Not yet bud, I just need you to back me up, and get the dragons circling, but out of sight. I want them nice and close."

Five minutes of tense sailing went by before the lead ship was within speaking distance.

"Ahoy!" A man called out, "I don't know what you lot are doing, but the Emperor ordered the channel to be sealed. No one gets in or out to the ocean without Nero's permission!"

By now, the two ships were just feet apart and men began throwing ropes to one another to pull the vessels together.

The man, who Hiccup could now see had brown hair, a beard and was built like an ox, jumped onto his ship, followed by a few of his men and began speaking again, "I am Maecius, a Centurion in Nero's army. I need to inspect your cargo, place of origin and destination as well as a list of your crew's compliment."

Hiccup walked forward, laughing, "I don't think you need to."

Maecius, shocked at this statement, took a step forward, "And who are you?"

"Someone unknown in these parts, but in my homeland, I'm known as Hiccup the Horrendous, and unless you don't want your ships to be destroyed and every single one of your men killed, I'd suggest you surrender."

Maecius narrowed his eyes and walked towards the young man, intent on intimidating him with his bulky stature, "Are you sure you want to make that order son?"

Hiccup, being the taller of the two, though clearly outmatched in muscle power, didn't back down in the slightest.

Maecius, clearly seeing Hiccup's intention of a fight, decided to make the first move and drew his sword. It was the wrong move. In the next instant, his blade landed on the deck in three pieces and he was left holding only the sword's hilt.

The Romans snapped into action, moving into a defensive position. Maecius looked to the young man in front of him to see Hiccup standing in a posture of authority with what appeared to be a black claw, extending from his right hand. Hiccup silently glanced to the left, to the shadows, and gave a slight nod.

A creature, black as the night with acid green eyes strolled forward into view. Instantly, all attention was on the dragon, who growled menacingly at the sight of the weapons.

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Toothless," Hiccup quipped. "Toothless, how about you introduce Maecius to the rest?"

A roar bellowed into the night and the sea and sky around them was lit up with tongues of fire, illuminating dragons of all kinds and uncountable by number. At this show of power, all of Maecius' men dropped their weapons and raised their hands in a sign of surrender.

Hiccup took a step forward into Maecius' personal space and forced the man back. "Like I said, I'd advise for you to surrender to me, and I'll let you live."

o~0~O~0~o

Nero rubbed his temples with annoyance as he sat in a tent, pouring over maps and notes near the site of the now destroyed Rome. He had a raging headache that just refused to go away.

The fire had finally subsided after six days of burning and relief teams had gone in to recover and save any victims they could, until the wreckage had reignited itself and continued to burn for another three days. He could still hear the fire cackling at him in his sleep.

He had undergone many sleepless nights in the past couple weeks, pouring everything he could into the relief efforts. That hadn't stopped rumors from quickly spreading that he had started the fire.

Since the rumors had started, crowds had gathered, riots had started and the people had been calling to dethrone him.

However, apparently a prophecy had arisen among the Christians recently that Rome would be destroyed. It had given him an idea. The people throughout the land weren't particularly favorable towards the Christians. The Jews hated them because of their inclusion of "gentiles **[2]** ," while the rest of the people were unhappy with the declaration of one God and no idols **[3]**.

They had been the perfect scapegoat and for the most part the opposition against him had been halted. The Christians were being rounded up, crucified, fed to lions and would be used as human torches in some of his coming parties. They were fleeing in all directions, but many had fallen victim to his hand **[4]**.

Though the lie had helped him somewhat, there were still peoples and nations who were trying to take advantage of the situation. He had been forced to call off the mass invasion of the Barbaric Archipelago and instead shore up defences, halt offences and reaffirm his control throughout the land. It would be a few years before he would be able to get around to it, but Hiccup the Horrendous and the rest of the Vikings would pay for what he had done.

o~0~O~0~o

"I found it like this about a month ago." Toklo explained as Hiccup, Skuld and herself peered down at not only the complete devastation of the Roman fort on Lava Lout island, but the entire island itself. Corpses littered the island, not just of dead men, but animals too. All that remained were the blackened rocks that made up the island and a few pillars of ice.

As soon as they had arrived back into the Archipelago, Toklo had urged both Hiccup and Skuld to join her in a flight. Though she hadn't exactly bonded with a particular dragon, those around were happy to give her a ride when she needed one, a nearby Nadder becoming her mount this particular trip. As always, Hiccup was on his Night Fury, while Skuld held on to Hiccup's back for dear life.

"I can't believe it, it's all gone." Skuld whispered to himself.

"Any idea who did it and with what?" Hiccup asked.

"I have no clue." Toklo admitted.

"I see." Hiccup replied. "We better be heading back. Skuld has much to discuss with his tribe."

With a nod, they each turned and flew back to the island they had been using as a base of operations. When they had landed, Skuld wandered off to break the bad news to his tribe, while Toklo was greeted by an overly excited Polar Bear.

With Skuld gone, Hiccup strolled through the stronghold to his quarters with Toothless, Toklo and Karpok following.

"Wow! I almost couldn't believe it." Hiccup spoke.

"Hiccup…" Toklo tried to interrupt.

"The devastation was more than I imagined."

"Hiccup…"

"The Lava Louts will be forced to live here now, making trade ships coming and going less suspicious."

"Hiccup…"

"You really outdid yourself. I was expecting the fort to be gone and most of the trees to be destroyed but seriously!"

"Hiccup…"

"And the pillars of ice! How did you do that?"

"It wasn't me!"

Hiccup looked to the young woman in shock, "What do you mean?"

"I went there to destroy it like you said, but it was already gone. Someone else beat us to it."

Hiccup thought for a moment, "So he's finally starting to make a move."

"Who?"

"I don't know. There's someone powerful out there who, like me, has an interest in the Archipelago. I've never met him, but I've known he's existed for a while. This will take some careful planning."

"I see."

"How many slaves do we have left over from the stronghold project?"

"Just under 200."

"Kill them."

"What!" Toklo asked, shocked at the command.

"I said kill them. There's a man out there who probably has no qualms about wiping us off the face of the earth and those 200 are looking for every chance they can get to escape and blab. If our mysterious visitor gets his hand on any one of them, our secret bunker won't be so secret anymore. I wont risk it."

Toklo understood the reasoning, but she didn't know if she could bring it about herself to kill 200 innocent people. There had to be another way. "You can't be serious!" she asked.

"I wish there was another way, but I'm afraid I haven't been able to think of one. I am however, open to suggestions."

Toklo thought for a minute, desperately trying to come up with a solution to this dilemma. Then an idea came to her. "The Stronghold!"

"What?" Hiccup, surprised asked.

"We found large deposits of iron while digging it out. We could send the slaves down through the stronghold to mine out the deposits. There already at the right level."

"And if they should tunnel out?"

"The Whispering deaths know everything that occurs underground. It should be easy for them to keep an eye on the slaves' progress."

Hiccup thought for a moment, "It's still risky, but you know… that just might work. And it would save me from making the new slaves dig down and extract the metal. Set the new slaves to work building homes for the Lava Louts as soon as they've made their agreement to build here. It shouldn't take long for them to decide. When that is done, get them to build ships… lots and lots of ships."

Relieved, Toklo nodded and turned to exit the room with Karpok, leaving Toothless and Hiccup alone.

 **(A/N)**

 **[1] At this time, the New Testament of the bible had not yet been put together. The Christians back then were instead relying on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. Over time inspired letters would be written and the New Testament would be complied. I didn't include any verses in the story because of this, but here are some anyways:**

 **\- Matt.10:34 "And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he will be no means lose his reward."**

 **\- Luke 21:1-4 "Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'"**

 **\- Acts 20:35 "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It's more blessed to give than to receive.'"**

 **[2] In the book of Acts we see over and over again that Paul would enter a town, go straight to the local Synagogue on the Sabbath and teach first and foremost to the Jews. The Jews would hear the word and respond positively. Then Paul would talk to the gentiles during the week, the Jews would become jealous that the Free gift of salvation wasn't exclusive and get Paul run out of town. Acts chapter 17 being a specific example.**

 **[3] It was a different story in towns with a more gentile population, the reason for despising the Christians were more for monetary reasons. In Acts chapter 16 we see Paul cast a demon, who could tell the future, out of a slave girl, which meant the owners could no longer make money off of her and therefore he got run out of town again. And in Acts chapter 19 verses 23-41.**

 **[4] I would also like to point out that when Christians start experiencing persecution, the church strengthens and grows. During the first persecution under Saul, the church was forced to spread out from Jerusalem and spread the word, strengthening the church significantly. In Nero's persecution, the Christians fled to Europe and brought the word there, growing the church and strengthening it in this instance as well. Even now days, if you look to countries that do not allow Christianity, like China or North Korea for instance, quite often you will find the strongest churches. Why? Those who do not have true belief and repentance are weeded out when people come after them. Thus, the true Christians are able to show exactly what being a follower of Christ is.**


	33. Chapter 33

**(A/N) Hey guys, sorry for the wait, but here's another chapter of DR for you all to enjoy. I'm back at school now, so I should have more time to write, but I'm going to change the update schedule for every 2 weeks in order to give me more time to perfect a chapter before its released. Enjoy.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Brenne: Acts 18 is a good example of the pattern repeating itself.**

 **Word might get around the Archipelago that something happened in Rome, but generally, the word would be that it was the Christians who set the fire and not Hiccup. He doesn't really have a need to take credit so Hiccup won't be putting a target on his back.**

 **5: I'm not exactly sure what all happens in China, and I have heard of a few churches there, but I get the impression that generally Christianity is frowned upon and any open religion is strictly regulated and censored by the government, but don't quote me on that.**

 **As far as Toklo goes, you could easily say that, although she's no Astrid if you catch my meaning. As for the rest of your questions, I really can't say much unfortunately without revealing major spoilers. Sorry, but I do love my secrets.**

 **Also, don't worry, it might take me a little bit to update at times, but I will see this story through to the very end.**

 **devilsnevercry945: That is an interesting outlook on that passage. You honestly had me stumped on how to answer you. Luckily, I'm staying at Bible College right now and there are plenty of people wiser than I staying here. One of my friends raised a good point though. If the slave owners did view the girl's abilities as a gift from the gods, by exploiting that gift, they would then by toying the will of the gods. As such, either they believed in the gods, but their greed pushed them to the point where they had decided to take their chances, or they didn't believe in the gods at all, in which case their greed is still the main reason they got mad at Paul and Silas. It is likely, the easiest way to get Paul and Silas in trouble at that point would be to attack them through religious laws, which is why the Roman religious beliefs are included in that story. I hope you get what I'm trying to say, I'm not sure I worded that the best.**

 **Little NightFury17: Well, the part about the Christians being scapegoats wasn't my idea. That's historically what happened. My belief is that Rome was an accident waiting to happen. It wasn't Nero, or Christians or any other party with ill intentions. It just happened and there was no stopping it.**

 **Ayuuni: It's not so much that Hiccup wants to take over the Archipelago, it's that he wants to make a statement. Things will come clearer as time goes on.**

 **Samateus-Taal: I'll try to keep up with the schedule from now on. Sorry about the delays.**

 **Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks**

 **OechsnerC: Thanks**

 **AvadaKedavera613: I guess the Romans must really like puns. Portus is actually a real city that's close to Rome, which is why I choose it.**

 **I am indeed a Christian, who likes to do research. And like you, I'm not here to start yelling at people and get into a big argument. An actual meaningful and constructive discussion/conversation is what I'm after, not a fight.**

 **Like the Jews, I believe in one God who gave the promise of the Torah and that it would never be changed. Where I differ from Judaism is the fact that I believe the New Covenant, the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins is the fulfilment of all the previous covenants in the Torah.**

 **Guest 1: She's in this chapter. Sorry, chapter 31 was split in two.**

 **Guest 2: Sigh… This is the basically the same argument again, but I'll answer it once again. The theme that we all have clay feet isn't the only theme/ goal of this story. Read some of the reviews for chapter 32 and you'll see the types of conversations I'm after. There are also two more themes that I'll really drive home in the final few chapters. Call me evil, go ahead. There's nothing stopping you. Just know that I care nothing for the respect of the world. In everything I do, I will strive to earn the respect of God and to further his kingdom.**

 **I do have a few questions for you though. If you hate the story so much, why do you continue to read it? Also, what is your goal with all of the hate comments? Do you want Hiccup to be reconciled? Do you want him to be killed off? Or maybe you want for to stop writing and die in a hole? Be mindful, if you don't give me solid answers to those two questions, I'm going to just start ignoring you.**

 **Lara5170: Actually, I'm not prejudice against the Jews. I meant to add another endnote explaining this, because I realized I might come off that way, but honestly, I forgot to. As a Christian, I must believe 100% that everything mentioned in the Bible is true, which is why I explained the Jews in that light. However, I do believe that there is still a fundamental place for the Jews in God's plan. I firmly believe that the free gift of salvation came first to the Jews (until they rejected it) for a reason. They are still God's chosen people and any Jew that does follow Jesus Christ has a spot ahead of any Gentile that chooses to believe. Since realising that I forgot to include that point, I have gone back and updated the chapter to include it at the end.**

 **The fact that Hiccup is mentioned to be insane is more just his personality shift for this fic. He is evil though. He's just been bidding his time, things will get darker.**

 **Also, Hiccup kind of doesn't really care what Nero decides, he can work with whatever direction Nero decides to go.**

 **IWannaCookie: Thank you very much.**

 **MRADCACA: Indeed it was.**

 **: Thank you for the compliments. It's reviews like these that make me want to keep writing this fic. Will Hiccup recruit more lieutenants? You can bet the farm on it, although I wouldn't say Hiccup is really corrupting Toklo any. She's just the way she is.**

 **TheArtificer42: Thank you very much.**

 **MMM: I don't really think Iamthebrovahakiin is active anymore. He hasn't updated any of his stories in about a year.**

 **Winterking15: Thank you.**

 **Trembelfist: Glad to see you here. Yes, Hiccup is OP, I know that and that's the point. I have this all figured out in my head, but I can't say too much without spoiling everything, but I do have a way to make that interesting. As for the troop thing, I do love research, but the Roman Army/Empire is not my area of specialties. I try my best, but I do make mistakes and I'm sorry or that.**

Chapter 33

Grenivik, small in size, peaceful in nature and located just North of the Barbaric Archipelago. The people of the village were skilled fisherman and renown sea-farers. Normally, it was a pleasant place to live. Dragons tended to avoid the place due to the cold and natural beauty abounded among the landscape and the inhabitants. But lately, something had been stalking the night.

Smoke wafted off the roofs of the buildings, Hallstein Iorundsson observed as his ship came into port. It was nearing sunset, and the people Hallstein observed were casting nervous glances towards the sky. He couldn't blame them.

Hallstein didn't move from the deck of his ship, he just waited, watching the sun go down and listening to the wind. No sooner had the crimson sun disappeared below the horizon, casting the village into darkness, then a fearsome roar call down from above.

The citizens of the town quickly retreated to shelter to await the safety of the next morning's light, Hallstein simply waited, watching.

A high-pitched wail sounded out from the darkness, moments before a nearby house burst into purple flames. Hallstein recognized the wail and the whistle that followed the explosion of light. A Night Fury stalked the night, unleashing its fire on the village at will.

Another wail pierced the night sky, a deadly omen for any who became a target to the beast. Explosion after explosion ripped through the night, tearing apart the town piece by peace. All the while, Hallstein looked on, observing. In his head, he couldn't help but think of the Viking's best defence against this dragon. "Hide and pray it does not find you."

This village had tried hiding, it had found them, and now, he would put an end to this. When he was done, the Bard's would sing of him, for come morning, he would be the first to ever slay the demon, in return for the reward offered by the town's people of course.

It wasn't until the sun decided to peak its way over the Eastern horizon and warm the sky with its glow that the beast finally decided to relent its bombardment on the town. Though the light was yet weak, Hallstein caught a glimpse of the creature soaring to a nearby mountain perch. Others had seen the dragon fly to this exact same perch before and attempted to put a stop to the attacks, but none had returned. Now it was his turn to make the climb. He would have to hurry though, news of the Night Fury's existence here had spread, and many were coming to claim the prize.

o~0~O~0~o

It was a long trek up the mountain, three days of climbing to be exact, but he was finally here, standing at the mouth of the creature's cave. The sun was high in the sky and he beast was likely sleeping. If he was silent, it should be an easy kill.

As stealthily as he could, he entered and began shuffling towards the back wall. Inch by inch he made his way through the darkness, until finally, he hit the back wall. No dragon was anywhere to be found. Turning his back to the stone, he started making his way back towards the light. There was only one problem. At the mouth of the cave stood a silhouette, but not the silhouette of a dragon, but of a man.

"Who are you?" Hallstein called out.

Silence was the only answer the figure offered as a large shape moved in behind him.

"LOOK OUT!" Hallstein called to the figure as he realised the Night Fury was sneaking up behind the figure.

The man spoke ignored him and instead drew his sword flaming sword while a purple glow formed in the throat of the beast, illuminating both the creature and the man in the dark. Hallstein only had seconds to gape at the man scratching the dragon's chin like it was some sort of kitten.

"What are you?" He managed to ask before the dragon's fire ripped him apart.

"A force to be reckoned with." Was the only answer Hiccup gave as he observed the aftermath.

o~0~O~0~o

There he was, the very man Hiccup had been trying to attract the attention of. Viggo Grimborn's ship was sailing right towards Grenivik. Word had reached him the Grimborn brothers were on the hunt for him, and he had an idea why. All Hiccup needed was to meet the man, well away from where he was actually active. It wouldn't do to give any possible enemies his real location.

That was why he had chosen this place. It was remote, freezing and almost uninhabitable. Ice bergs littered the seascape providing many avenues of a quick escape. Even better, it was only an hour's flight from the borders of the Barbaric Archipelago. It would be easy to assume this could be the place he had outcasted himself to.

With a final glance down, Hiccup shifted his foot and closed the crimson tail fin as Toothless folded his wings. The two were so in sync that the dragon didn't need any signal from his rider to know when they would begin the dive. In a matter of seconds, the pair were standing firmly on the deck.

A man Hiccup clearly recognized as Viggo stepped forward, "Ah Hiccup, seems you're a hard man to track down."

"If I don't want to be found, I won't be. It's as simple as that."

Viggo nodded, and gestured to a board set up in the middle of the deck, "Care for a game of Maces and Talons? I'm eager to try my hand against you again." Before placing a black piece on the board.

"Sure, why not?" Hiccup answered as he stepped towards the board and arranged his pieces and their respective positions.

"Excellent. I just love trying my hand against a worthy opponent."

"Shall we get down to business then?" Hiccup asked as he moved one of his hunters across the board, forcing Viggo to move his pieces back, "Or did we just spend great time and resources to sit around, play a game and watch our spit freeze before it hits the deck?"

Viggo nodded. "Seems you've made a bit of an impression on my employer, what with you sinking an entire Roman armada and all." He said as he arranged his pieces in more of a defensive position.

"What can I say, they didn't have any business being here." Hiccup answered as he moved his pieces to put more pressure on his opponent.

"But what really caught my attention was your work in Rome. I can assume that was you. Am I correct." Viggo asked as he used a hunter to flank Hiccup's pieces, taking 2 of them and turning the tide of the game in his favour.

Hiccup, keeping calm, raised an eye, "How did you know about that?" He asked as he rearranged his pieces to compensate.

Viggo studied the board, looking for the best strategy. "Never underestimate the power of good information Hiccup. I have eyes and ears everywhere, looking for the best place to bring my trade and exactly who to sell my business to. Be it Monstrous Nightmare gel, Zippleback hides, or maybe even a whole Deadly Nadder to throw in the gladiator ring. I know who will pay the highest price for my good at any given time and place. Rome in no exception, I have people all over. Know what I found out? There's quite the sum of money on your head. The bounty came all the way from Nero himself. Seems you ticked him off really good." His rant over, Viggo decided to reveal the traitor, compromising the safety of Hiccup's Viking Chief.

"Understood." Hiccup answered as he moved his pieces to defend against the new attack, but hindering the strength of his defensive line in the process.

Viggo, continued on as he moved his pieces in for the attack again. again, "That was tight efficient work by the way. Nero is still reeling from the attack. He doesn't even have any idea who did it. He's going around blaming some religious sect. The only reason I even suspected a dragon attack at all was the Nadder Spikes found in that Quarry." Viggo finished his turn by killing off another of Hiccup's hunters.

"Oh, he knows. He even chose the city that was to be destroyed. I gave him every chance, and he still lost." Hiccup said as he moved one of his pieces in an attempt to destroy a small group of Viggo's pieces in a bid to change the tide of the game once more.

"I'm impressed Hiccup. Quite a feat for a… how old are you?" Viggo asked as he thwarted Hiccup's attempt to gain the upper hand, but loosing a piece in the process.

"I'm 18. Had a Birthday just before I started the attack." Hiccup answered as he maneuvered his Viking Chief into a more defensible position.

"Like I said, impressive. Some people spend their whole lives trying to do what you've accomplished in just a couple years… which is why my employer wants to meet with you." Viggo replied as he angled his pieces to cut Hiccup's forces in two and take two more of his pieces off the board, leaving them at seven hunters to three.

"Ahh, so this mysterious figure has finally decided to step into the light?" Hiccup asked as he revealed his own imposter, off to the left of the board.

"Indeed, he has. He's a man who- "Viggo started as he made an attack against Hiccup's Chief, ignoring the imposter Hiccup had revealed as a decoy and taking another of Hiccup's pieces off the board.

"No doubt controls a dragon army, is a very powerful man with many allies and sees me as both a potential threat and possible ally, am I right." Hiccup asked as he moved another of his pieces, taking an impressive five of Viggo's hunters off the board to back his statement up, leaving the game neutral again with Viggo having two hunters, and Hiccup having two hunters and the imposter, who was so far out into left field it could be ignored. In the matter of a moment, the game had changed.

"Yes, you are, have you heard of him before?" Viggo acknowledged as he made a strategic retreat.

"I only know of him through my last meeting with you. Although the encounter gave me some insight into who he is, tell me more about him." Hiccup answered as he moved his back to regroup with the Viking Chief.

"For starters, his name is Drago Bludvist." Viggo replied as he moved the Chief of the Marauders ahead, into the open. Hiccup ignore the trap, instead opting to give up some land in order to secure a better defensive position.

Viggo studied the board, looking for an opening. "He's spent the last several years scowering the world for both allies and dragons. I've lost count of the number of heads I've sold him through the years. And I hear he's close to securing a human army as well. Though negotiations reached a stand still when you appeared on the global scene. Their not entirely convinced that Drago will be able to lead them to victory now if you stand against him." He said as he moved a hunter up, putting the pressure on the young man standing opposite of him.

"And so, he either wants me dead, or to join him, making us both stronger." Hiccup offered as he gave up some more land.

"Indeed. Although a fight between the two of you could go either way. Drago I know is both strong and smart. You on the other hand are a bit of an enigma. You've kept your cards close, use only what you need and have shown yourself to be an formidable opponent." Viggo analyzed as he moved a piece to strike, taking out one of Hiccup's hunters in the process, making the teen's eyebrows furrow in concentration.

"So, he'd rather not risk it and just go for an alliance." Hiccup offered as he avenged the fallen piece with his last hunter, leaving them tied again.

"That is as it seems." Viggo answered as he moved his piece in for the kill, taking Hiccup's last hunter off the board. Smiling in his imminent victory.

So, how do I meet him?" Hiccup asked, as, with the game making its way far enough toward the back of the board, he brought his imposter around back of the Chief of the Marauders, killing him and winning the game.

Viggo smiled at the teen, "Well done Hiccup."

A voice shouted through the air, "HEADS!"

Both of their heads snapped towards the voice, only to see a man pointing into the sky. Their heads followed the man's arm to see a dragon flying directly towards them.

Viggo reached to his side and grabbed a telescope to take a better look.

"Interesting. Take a look, see Hiccup. Tell me what you think." Viggo suggested as he handed the telescope over to the young man.

Hiccup took hold of the glass and peered towards the dragon, it took him a second to identify the species, but what he saw, shocked him, "What's a Sand Wraith doing all the way up here?" He asked.

"I have no idea, in all my days of dragon hunting, I've never seen one flying during the middle of the day, much less this far North." Viggo replied before turning to his men, "Take it down!" He ordered.

Instantly, three nets started tracking their way towards their target.

o~0~O~0~o

The cold sent a shiver down Astrid's spine. The fact that she was up high in the air, sleep deprived and still searching for Hiccup after three long years wasn't helping matters. Word had reached her ears while she was had been on Hysteric Island that a Night Fury had been wreaking havoc on a small village North of the Archipelago. So, they had set out, hoping to find the elusive duo.

She had just arrived in Grenivik earlier that day. Hoping to find out what she could, she had planned to enter the village after a quick nap. Unfortunately, a young couple had happened upon their campsite while they slept. When she did enter the town, she had been met with a mob of angry individuals and they had both been forced to flee.

Astrid and her dragon were closer than ever, and after spending so much time together, flying through adventure after adventure, they knew each other like themselves.

Astrid had grown taller over the years. She'd taken to wearing her hair in a braid that ran down along her shoulder and she wore deer skin clothing that she had stitched together herself. Though not exactly skillfully crafted, they were relatively warm.

Her companion, Quicksand, had also changed quite dramatically since their first meeting. The addition of a human companion to help with gathering food had left plenty of extra time to rest, fly and horse around with his rider. He'd grown stronger, faster and deadlier as time went on. His scales were also much darker than before as well.

A trade off to being bonded with a human was the fact that the human needed to stop by human villages in order to resupply, and more than a few times the two had been discovered. After being chased off so many islands and forced to flee in the daylight, He'd been burned more times than either of the two could remember. Though Astrid did her best to protect him from the sun's rays, it wasn't always an option. As a result, his tolerance to UV exposure had been forced to grow.

A sudden jolt snapped Astrid to attention. Quicksand had quickly gained altitude to avoid running straight into an ice berg. It was only then that she noticed the ship in front of them. She was about to steer Quicksand around the ship when she caught sight of a black mass on the deck.

'It couldn't be.' She thought to herself, but right there in front of her was the elusive Night Fury, the very thing the two had been searching for three long years! And where Toothless was, his rider was sure to not be far!

She was so absorbed in the sight of the dragon before her, that she failed to notice the nets coming their way. All she registered was a faint "Tthwaaa-wha-wha-wha-snap!" Then next thing she knew, she was pinned to her dragon and they were both hurtling towards the freezing ocean below.

They hit the water with a splash and instantly, the cold surrounded her and bit into her flesh like a thousand sharp knives. As soon as the shock wore off, her fingers quickly started digging for a knife, desperate to cut the ropes that bound both her and her dragon.

She needn't have tried. It only took seconds for both her and the dragon to be lifted out of the water and deposited on the deck of a ship. Her teeth were chattering and her body was numb. Ice was beginning to form on her clothes as her body began to shut down. She opened her eyes as soon as she could and saw many people clustered around them. She rested a shaky hand on Quicksand head, while she started to cut at the ropes with the other.

It only took a second before she felt the ropes loosen. Quicksand immediately took advantage and tore through the rest of the ropes and backed into a defensive position. Even as Astrid slid off her companion's back, her axe found itself in her grasp.

The men gathered around immediately took up defensive positions and Astrid gave them a quick study. She could tell with just a glance that these men were experienced fighters. Even if she wasn't soaked with freezing cold water, she could tell they'd easily be able to overpower her. That didn't mean she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"Astrid?" A familiar nasally voice called out.

At the mentioning of her name, Astrid glanced over to see a man with auburn hair and dressed in black armour creeping up towards her with a steady hand holding back the men encircling them.

"H-H-H-iccup?" She managed to ask through chattering teeth, though she never let her guard down even for a second.

Wary of the dragon that stood behind the blond, growling as menacingly as he could, though he was more wary of the blond shield maiden, Hiccup continued to advance. "Yes, its me. What are you doing here?"

"W-W-what a-are you d-d-doing sh-sh-shooting d-d-dragons out of the s-s-sky?"

"I'm not." Hiccup answered as he turned his head towards a man with a well trimmed goatee. "Call your men off Viggo."

"Absolutely not." The man answered. "Imagine the profit we could get off of this guy. Once hardened by the intense heat of a furnace, the scales of a Sand Wraith are stronger than any chain mail and half the weight. We could make quite a profit off of him."

Astrid saw Hiccup go rigid and walk purposefully towards the man. It was only then that she realized how much he's grown in their absence. Standing at 6'1", he wouldn't quite be as tall as Stoick, nor was he as tall as Viggo, but he still had a commanding presence. That combined with the complicated black armour he now wore and a serious confidence boost and he was far from the child he'd been on Berk.

"Let her and the dragon go Viggo, or I will destroy this ship and everyone on it, and then I'll find Drago myself."

Viggo narrowed his eyes at the young man, analysing him and thinking. Finally, he turned to his men, "Stand down. The lass and the dragon goes with him." Then he turned to Hiccup, "Drago will meet you at what's left of Lava Lout island in a month from now. Now get off my ship, before I change my mind. The girl alone could still fetch a fine price on any black market I choose."


	34. Chapter 34

**(A/N) And I'm back. Things are still ramping up so without further ado, lets get into the guest reviews.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Grizzly98: Lol, here you go.**

 **Cryptodraconis noctis: Thank you, I'm not officially revealing the pairing here for those who do want it a surprise, but if you must no, it's posted on my profile.**

 **Brenne & CartoonPonyDrawing: Yep, 3 years. When I first started writing this I had no idea it was going to be this long, but it happened.**

 **Trembelfist: I think the last chapter will be the last we see of Viggo for the most part. I would love to have him come back, but he doesn't really fit in with the rest of the story, but if I can, I will definitely add him again. I personally love his character and I'm glad he's still alive in RTTE. As for the slaves, he just really wants to tie up loose ends to keep the fortress a secret from everyone.**

 **Guest 1: I know I said I was going to ignore you, but I want to tell you a little story instead. September the 9** **th** **, 2016, I was just beginning Bible College, was in a bit of a low spot when it came to my faith and was pretty bored. An idea came into my head and I wrote and posted the 1** **st** **chapter of Disturbed Reflections, not really knowing where it would go or what people would think of it. To my surprise, it really took off and I enjoyed writing it. Then came along chapter 15, and (I'm guessing this is you) I got my first rather nasty review from a guest and I read it. It said, "I've always wondered why, when there are so few good role models around, fanfiction authors feel the need to turn good role models into evil ones? Does't the world already have ENOUGH evil entities?" and I was shocked. Then I started questioning myself and what I was doing. I almost stopped writing this story because of that one comment and how I wasn't sure I could justify it. Then a miracle happened, God re-awakened my faith and I was on fire for Him. And then I started thinking, what can I do to further His Kingdom. That's when I took another look at that comment, my story and re-evaluated my thinking. This story transformed overnight because of either you, or an argument you have been fighting for continuously. So I didn't ignore you in the past, and in actuality, you made Disturbed Reflections what it is today.**

 **maddmann1991: I try and thank you.**

 **Shannon Rei D. Sumner: Thank you very much**

 **devilsnevercry945: Ya, I admit, that first answer didn't satisfy me completely either. So I did some more digging into it, asked a few more people their opinions and came up with an answer. I want to thank you for pushing me to learn more though.**

 **First off, you can't just state that Paul was greedy without giving evidence to support your answer. I need some evidence to take you seriously. 2 Corinthians 11:7-9 says "Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you may be exalted, because I preached the Gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no on, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself." Paul was a tentmaker who preferred above all to earn his own keep everywhere he went and accepting nothing. And when he was forced to take a gift from churches, he considered it robbing them, so I can't really see how you can call Paul greedy.**

 **Also, I just had a pleasant conversation with a man much wiser than myself. He pointed out that the main idea of the story isn't so much about being greedy. It was about Paul showing God's power over the demonic that got the village angry, more so the people who profited off their religion. If Jesus and the God of Israel is more powerful than the Roman/Greek pantheon or any other god for that matter, then what's the point of investing in them if they have been proven to be inferior? After all, idols are expensive and so are Oracles, temple prostitutes, (It was a thing) Ect.**

 **Different people would have reacted different ways. For instance, in Luke 8:26-39, we see Jesus cast out a legion of demons out of a man and into a group of pigs who were drowned. The people of the area were seized by fear and asked him to depart. The man whom the demons were cast out of had a change of heart and became a believer.**

 **The people in the days of Paul who made money off of religion, would have been mad at Paul and Silas for leading the people away from their gods, whom they made money off of. It's all about the Power of God over the gods of this world.**

 **Mudsbreath,** **OechsnerC and xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Thank you.**

 **Frost: Yep, and thank you. I also can't wait to start writing Drago's portion of this story.**

 **Guest 2: If you really believe that, then you haven't been paying attention.**

 **Lightfootk: Thank you**

Chapter 34

Astrid opened her eyes, but something was different. There was a roof over her head. She hadn't had a roof over her head in three years. She would have assumed it was just another fevered dream, but no, the light entering the room was too blindingly bright for that.

Her head had started getting foggy not too long after the two of them had left Viggo's ship. Soon after that her head had started pounding and she'd become feverous. She didn't remember much after that, but she did recall Hiccup having to carry her for a little bit before she'd passed out completely from the cold enveloping her body.

She slowly sat up and took in her surroundings. It was then that she realised her clothes were missing. All she had to cover herself was one of the many furs that had been layered over top of her. On top of that, both Quicksand and her axe were missing as well.

She was in a wooden room. A fire was roaring in a stone fire pit right in front of her. The place was sparsely decorated, but the walls were adorned with many weapons, most of which were several bows of different sizes. A strange bear skin rug lay on the floor just in front of the door and at the foot of a small table.

The only problem, it wasn't a bear skin rug. It blinked and raised its giant white head in her direction. A young woman sat on a chair by the table as well, sharpening a sword. She had dark skin and hair black as the night.

Astrid let out a screech and quickly ran for the wall to grab one of the many weapons hanging there. She only got a few steps before a severe wave of dizziness over swept her and she fell to her hands and knees.

"Oh good, your up." The woman spoke.

Slowly, Astrid got back up, bracing herself against the fireplace for support and attempting to cover herself at the same time while eying both the woman and the bear suspiciously.

"Don't worry, Karpok won't hurt you." The woman said.

"Who are you?" Astrid asked.

"I'm Toklo, Second in Command of everything under Hiccup's domain." Toklo answered as she crossed the room and sat down on the couch that Astrid had used as a bed.

"Hiccup's domain? Where is Hiccup? Where am I?"

"You're on a ship and Hiccup's taking care of some business above deck right now. That's not important right now though. As long as your awake, and he's not here, I'm going to find out just who you are and what you think your doing here. Hiccup doesn't make it a regular habit of saving damsels in distress." Toklo answered as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm a friend of his."

"From Berk?" Toklo questioned, although she already knew the answer.

"Yes."

"I've known Hiccup for a few years now and he never has anything good to share about Berk. So, what's your interest in him."

Astrid narrowed her eyes, "That's my business, not yours."

"Everything that goes on in the Archipelago and beyond is my business. Hiccup is a very influential man. He works in the background most of the time, but he started with nothing and built himself up. He's has an island of both people and dragons loyal to him. He's got allies, fleets of ships and he's placed it all under my authority. And now there's you. A young shield-maiden from the island he despises and yet, he decides to rescue you from a fate worse than death… and he puts you under my direct care."

"How thoughtful of him." Astrid replied.

"Mark my words, I will be watching you. Everywhere you go, everything you do. Even if you so much as put a hair out of place, I'll know about it. I may not ride a dragon like you do, but I'll end you myself if I even so much as suspect your not who you seem you are."

The two stared each other down for what seemed like hours, but in reality, was just mere minutes. Astrid felt anger rushing through her all the while, strengthening her resolve and pushed her to stand tall.

Finally, it was Toklo who broke the silence. "Get some clothes on, they're on the table. Your dragon and your belongings are out on the main deck. Hurry up, Hiccup will be waiting."

Astrid nodded as Toklo got up and exited the room.

o~0~O~0~o

The sun was high in the sky when Astrid strode up onto deck wearing a blue shirt with a fur collar and sleeves, and an armoured leather skirt. For the first time in ages, she actually had a set of shoulder guards on that would fit and a proper set of boots. She felt normal again and couldn't help but notice that she now had on a similar colour scheme to what she normally would have worn back on Berk, something which she had her suspicions Hiccup had something to do with.

She let the golden rays warm her body as a crisp southern wind blew across her face. Around her, men roamed the deck, ensuring the ship sailed as smoothly and efficiently as they could, while keeping in line with the convoy of about 20 other ships all around them.

She took a quick glance around the ship. Quicksand lay sleeping in the middle of the deck, protecting himself from the sun's rays by lying directly in the shade of the sails. She smiled as she noticed the sailors giving the dragon a wide berth. She was tempted to wake the dragon up, but there was someone she needed to see first, so she let the lizard continue to sleep.

Casting her gaze to the helm of the ship, she caught sight of Hiccup conversing with a rather important looking group of men. He wasn't hard to pick out. He was the man wearing black armour and standing next to the Night Fury. He'd changed greatly in the past three years. He was taller, a lot taller. Though still not quite as tall as his dad, he stood several inches above the others in the group. His hair was longer as well, his face was leaner and his frame had filled out with what was clearly muscle. What might be most shocking though was his lack of a left leg.

She quickly started walking in his direction and it wasn't long before he took notice of her and interrupted the conversation.

He smiled as he called out, "Astrid, good to see that you're up. Gave us a bit of a scare there. Wasn't sure if you'd ever wake up at one point."

Astrid nodded, "How long was I out?" She asked.

"Five days. You had quite the fever by the time I got you to Grenivik-"

"The village that kept getting attacked? Astrid questioned. "How'd you get them to cooperate?"

"I… dealt with them accordingly."

Astrid raised an eyebrow, she had a pretty good idea what that meant. "Hiccup we need to talk… Privately."

A few of the men standing around gave wolf-whistles, and one even nudged Hiccup in the ribs, to which Astrid just rolled her eyes while Hiccup turned quite serious.

"Follow me." He demanded and headed below decks, to which Astrid obliged, shoving the man who had nudged Hiccup to the deck in the process.

Hiccup entered his own personal quarters, followed by Astrid and as soon as the door was closed, she immediately began firing questions his way.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS! What happened to your leg? What is all… this?" She asked while motioning towards him with her hands.

"You just gestured to all of me" Hiccup pointed out.

"Not just you, the ships? the people? That girl? What's going on?"

"A lot has happened since I left. I'm no longer the fishbone I was when I left. I've made my life what it is today. I've put an end to the dragon raids, travelled large portions of the world, gained alliances, destroyed armies and built a place to call home. And I did it all on my own. There will be more time later to discuss what's happened, but what are you doing here? As far as I knew you were still on Berk."

"Things have happened Hiccup. Berk is in trouble. I don't know exactly what it is, but some sort of great evil is coming. Something that threatens to destroy the village forever. Your people need you Hiccup. Berk needs you."

At the mention of Berk, Hiccup tensed, but gestured for her to continue.

"It wasn't long after you left that Gothi had a vision. She saw us Hiccup. She watched that first flight that we had on Toothless. She watched us enter the nest and saw the Queen. And… she saw everything that happened after that. Then the vision changed to the future. She saw you tied to a table and tortured by a creature who was more dragon than man. The same creature is supposed to attack the village. The outcome was never revealed, but I do remember Gothi's last words about the subject. She said 'In a few years time, someone will come to destroy us all. You, Astrid Hofferson, are the only one who can stop him, and Hiccup is the key."

They both stood in silence for several minutes as Hiccup digested the information.

"There is someone who could fit the bill… Hiccup acknowledged."

Astrid looked up in shock, "Who?"

"There's a man who goes by the name of Drago Bludvist. He's powerful. He controls dragons, is gathering an army and everyday he gets more and more powerful. If my hunch is correct, he may be responsible for pretty much driving the Night Furies to extinction. I've never met him in person, but if my hunch is correct, he's intent on world domination."

"How do you know of him?"

"He's offered to meet, to discuss a potential alliance."

Astrid's voice took on an icy edge, "And what are you going to do?"

"That has yet to be decided. We left my island about a day and a half ago, joining the return trip of a convoy of merchant ships I sent to Rome. They'll be braking off one by one to head to various islands around the Archipelago to trade their cargo. We'll be heading to Outcast Island. The heads of three major tribes and myself will discus what to do about him then."

"Outcast Island! Hiccup, what are you doing hanging around with the Outcasts?"

"I know, their feared, hated, despicable, all those things. However, there's one quality that they have that I can always count on… Their greed; and that makes them easy to manipulate. They're pawns Astrid. I don't trust Alvin any farther than I can throw him, but he's easy to control. When the time comes, he'll be removed, there are plenty of others I trust far more who can fill his shoes."

Astrid took another look at Hiccup "Hiccup, what happened to you?" She asked.

Hiccup looked at her funny, "What do you mean?"

"The Hiccup I knew was nothing like this. You were kind, compassionate. You had a Night Fury at your mercy, the very thing that could have made you great in the eyes of any Viking… and yet, you spared his life. Now your talking of disposing of a man like its nothing at all. What happened?"

Hiccup paused for a moment before replying, "I had my eyes opened. I grew up. That Hiccup had no place in todays world." Astrid opened her mouth to interrupt, but Hiccup held up a hand and continued, "Face it Astrid, that Hiccup is gone."

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup was the last to enter the strategy meeting held deep within the natural stronghold that was Outcast Island. He had advised Astrid to stay on the ship for the time being, but Toklo and Skuld had both accompanied him here. He took in his surroundings. Black volcanic rock made up the walls and was lit by several torches. In the center stood a rather large stone table that filled the room.

A rather smug looking Alvin was seated on an elevated throne at the head of the table with Savage standing by his side. To his left sat Dagur the Deranged, a young man with red hair, a decent beard and three blue claw marks tattooed on his eye. His being here was a complete and total surprise to Hiccup, but the Berserker Chief had apparently been invited to the table by Alvin. Dagur happened to have a rather large armada at his disposal. So far it had only been used to intimidate, but he was itching at the bit to get some action, something the Archipelago was only far too aware of. Seated to Dagur's left was his second in command, a man whom Hiccup had never met before.

Toklo and Skuld were quickly guided to the two open seats at the right hand of Alvin, leaving Hiccup to sit at the foot of the table. It was an obvious statement, the Chief of the Outcasts had become irritated at Hiccup's absence and seeming lack of effort towards placing the Archipelago under their control, but the young man took it in stride. Let Alvin delude himself into thinking he had the power Hiccup figured.

When everyone was situated, some of Alvin's people brought in a meal of Atlantic Pike, a fish native only to Outcast Island and as such, considered a delicacy in most parts of the Barbaric Archipelago. As soon as the meal was in front of them, the aids left the room, leaving those who had gathered to their privacy.

"Ay, welcome back Hiccup." Alvin drawled, "Long time no see."

"Hey! Hiccup! Good to see you again." Dagur greeted. "And hey, what happened to the fishbone? This new look really suits you."

Hiccup nodded at the two, "Good to see you again as well." He forced himself to say. "I'd like you two to meet Toklo, representative of the Tuuluuwaq'Atka tribe in the far North, and Skuld Loutisson, Chief of the Lava Louts. Toklo, Skuld, I give you Alvin the Treacherous, Dagur the Deranged, savage and someone who I don't know."

"This is Skarf." Dagur answered, "Just ignore him, he's no one important."

Skarf looked like he wanted to complain, but wisely decided not to.

"Alright, now tha' the pleasantries r' all taken care of, where 'ave ya been all this time?" Alvin asked. "Ya were gone so long I felt the need to recruit Dagur to our operation."

"And might I say I'm pleased to be part of this whole thing!" Dagur piped up as he dug in to his meal.

Hiccup ignored him and stared pointedly at the Outcast Chief. "I was out doing what was necessary."

"Like what." Alvin replied.

"Killing Romans, encountering future enemies… you know, the typical stuff."

"Then what's he doin' here?" Alvin asked while pointing directly the Lava Lout Chief.

"We had a bit of a run in and I figured we could use him."

"How!" Alvin yelled, "If ya recall, his entire tribe was destroyed by tha Romans. Lava Lout island is completely wiped off tha map!"

Skuld made to answer Alvin, but was interrupted by Hiccup instead. "There's lots that's been happening the last little bit and in no way, do you know the whole story!"

"Exactly! I don't know! Now tell me what's been goin' on! I'm tired of bein' left in tha dark! I wan' action!" Alvin yelled.

"Get used to something Alvin, you're not in charge anymore! I'll tell what I want, to who I want and when!"

Alvin sat forward and gripped the armrests of his chair with bone crushing force, "Why ya little-"

"Ladies," Toklo chimed in while rolling her eyes, "Your both ugly, no need to bicker like an old married couple. Now can we please get on to-."

"WHY YA LITTLE WHORE! HOW DARE YA SPEAK TA ME LIKE THAT! IF I HAD IT MY WAY YA WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE!" Alvin yelled.

Toklo gasped while Hiccup shot straight up at the statement. Dagur had an ever-growing smile etched upon his face, clearly hoping for things to escalate further. Skarf seemed a bit put off at the shouting match that was ensuing but was unwilling to put an end to it while his Chief seemed to be enjoying it. Skuld on the other hand knew things had to stop soon or else things would take an turn for the worse, if that was even possible.

"Maybe we should just-" The Lava Lout Chief began before being cut off by Hiccup.

 **"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"** He yelled out with such an intensity that would have made Stoick the Vast proud.

"MAKE ME YA LITTLE BRAT!" Alvin screamed back, "I TOOK YA IN WHEN YOU HAD NO PLACE ELSE TA GO, GAVE YOU A HOME, TRAINED YA, LET YOU HAVE THA RUN OF THA PLACE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?"

"THAT'S IT!" Hiccup shouted as he jumped up on to the table with his sword drawn, Alvin quickly followed suit with his axed raised, the meal quickly forgotten.

The two met in the middle with a clash of weapons, Hiccup's sword easily sliced off the tip of Alvin's axe. However, the Outcast's larger size made so that he was easily able to knock Hiccup over with his momentum. Hiccup fell on to his back into a pile of discarded food, loosing his grip on his sword in the process.

Toklo was the first to recover, but she was certain Hiccup could win, she did train him after all, and didn't particularly care what happened to the Outcast Chief so she made no move to stop the two. Dagur was just enjoying it too much. It was finally Skuld who decided to step in and attempt to separate the two. He jumped up on the table to try and hold Alvin back, but only succeeded in getting shoved to the side.

Skuld desperately looked to Dagur for support, "Help me stop them!" He pleaded.

With a sigh, Dagur glanced over to Skarf and nodded for him to go and help Skuld.

Alvin advanced on Hiccup with a gleam in his eye, towering over his fallen opponent. "Now I'll teach ya." He spoke with no hint of mercy as he raised his Axe

Hiccup's hands closed around something, what, he wasn't quite sure and threw it at the Outcast Chief just as Skarf decided to step between the two. A serrated knife ended up striking Skarf in the forehead while a fork sailed on past and hit Alvin in the face. The Outcast dropped his axe and cried out in pain when the fork stuck in his cheek, while Skarf dropped to the table top, dead.

Skuld watched on in horror while Dagur chuckled in amusement. Toklo stared ahead with indifference to the fight, though she did wipe some blood off her face as she handed Hiccup his discarded sword.

"Thank you, milady." He smiled before turning his attention back towards the Outcast Chief.

Alvin had just managed to yank the fork from his face when he found a sword aimed at his throat.

"I suggest you take a seat and be quiet. I still have a place for you and your men in my plan, but you're not irreplaceable."

Alvin scowled and returned back to his seat. Hiccup turned and did the same, though he kept his attention on the Outcast.

"Well, what is the plan?" Toklo asked, completely side stepping the previous conflict and ignoring the body that continued to leak blood onto the table.

"Simple, the formation of an empire, with those seated here controlling it." Hiccup answered.

"OOooohhhh, Hiccup! I really do like this new you!" Dagur cackled, "So ambitious. But how do you propose that coming about?"

"It won't be easy, and there's plenty of risk involved for all parties here, but if we play this right, no force on earth will be able to stop us." Hiccup replied. "Somewhere out there, there is a force that is unstoppable to all but us if we work together. Have any of you heard of a man called Drago Bludvist?"

The room remained silent as the four audience members glanced to one another with uncertainty."

"Aye." Alvin replied, "I recon we 'ave."

Hiccup nodded, "He's been lying in wait these few decades, building a dragon army. I have no idea how big it is, but I know it's almost ready to unleash havoc upon the world. However, he's offered me an alliance."

"So, we take him up on the alliance and rule along side him?" Dagur asked, "How boring."

"Not a chance. He doesn't know any of you exist, and as long as he doesn't, we'll make sure he won't. That's why I took the precaution on traveling here in a convoy of trading ships."

"So, then wha'?" Alvin asked.

"It's simple, I accept while you lot remain here, build up your forces, refurbish your ships for war and get ready for my signal. While under Drago's leadership, I'll gain intel, see what he's got and wait for him to make a mistake. When the time is right, we strike, destroy him and absorb what's left over into our own armies."

"Wha' about the Archipelago, and more importantly Berk?"

Hiccup laughed, "They've already lost."

"How'd ya figure?"

"There's more than one way to win a war." Hiccup replied as he set a bag on the table and opened it. A sample of wheat spilled onto the table.

"I hate to break it to you Hiccup." Dagur cut in, "But grain isn't going to do much against the Tribes."

"Exactly, it won't do much, except rot in the ground. With the end of the dragon raids, which I ended personally, the Archipelago has been enjoying the peace. Their crops have been untouched and their sheep and cattle have been grazing peacefully. The tribes have a surplus of food for the first time in over a century. However, I visited Rome recently and secured a trading partner who's willing to sell wheat, canola, barley and more for dirt cheep. I also found a man who's developed a new poison, which I acquired the formula to. This poison, when mixed with good seed will leave the soil its planted in foul. The land it's sowed in will be barren for up to a year. And the best part, it's completely indistinguishable from the good seed. Look through the bag yourself, you won't be able to tell the good kernels from the bad. Even now, my trade ships are distributing the bad seed around the Archipelago and dragons are dropping it from above. The harvest this year will be a bad one, and by this time next year, the Archipelago will be experiencing an intense famine."

"So, we poison some crops, then what?" This time it was Skuld who asked.

"The Tribes will grow desperate. When that happens, the raids will begin, only they'll find that their raids will be just as fruitless as their harvests. With no where to turn, they'll be hopeless."

"Then we come in and take them over!" Dagur declared gleefully.

"No. That will just create enmity between them and us. You will raid them, but you won't impose your rule over them. As soon as the crops grow back they'll do everything in their power to get their individuality back."

"So, then wha' do we do?" Alvin inquired.

"That's when I come in as the saviour. I still have access to large amounts of cheep grain, remember. We destroy them financially and they'll be just as desperate. With the amounts of gold they already have to pay to me, they'll be ruined. Until I give them an offer they can't refuse. Protection from their enemies, aid in their times of need and a large reduction of their tariffs in return for their loyalty to me."

"And where do we come in?" Dagur asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Toklo asked, "Sometimes I really wonder if you Vikings are really as dumb as the world thinks you are. If this Empire is to be built on the grounds that the Archipelago needs someone watching over them, there needs to actually be something that they need to be protected from. A famine can't last forever and if Drago is no longer a threat, the Tribes will quickly move to regain their independence."

Hiccup nodded at her. "With Drago's army absorbed in to your tribes, you'll be seen as an unstoppable force to all except for my army of dragons. It will be a cold war of sorts. However, when they commit themselves to the empire to gain my protection, they will actually be committing themselves to you as well. Less bloodshed, more people, more power. Then we keep up the charade until the Archipelago is too reliant on us to become independent again."

Hiccup glanced around the table as the full scale of the plan was revealed. Toklo and Skuld glanced to each other, admiration for their leader clearly evident while Dagur and Alvin grinned manically at one another, greed weighing heavily in their hearts.

"Are we all in agreement?" Hiccup asked. From the looks on their faces, he didn't need to.

 **(A/N) Thank you all for reading. I'll try and have the next chapter out on the 13** **th** **.**


	35. Chapter 35

**(A/N) Hey guys, sorry about the wait. I have an important A/N at the end of this chapter that will explain everything.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **TheArtificer42: Thank you very much, I hope I can continue to make this interesting.**

 **Dragonlover66: I like to keep people guessing. I'm trying to make things easy to understand, but I also like plot twists. That's all I can say. There's a lot of deception going on, some of which you've seen, some of which you haven't yet. Were almost to the boiling point of when it all goes down, don't worry.**

 **Guest 1: Thank you**

 **OechsnerC: Thank you**

 **Grizzly98: Yes, he is. As for the pairing, I don't like to talk about it here for those who don't want it spoiled, but it is posted on my profile if you care to take a look.**

 **CartoonPonyDrawing: Thank you.**

 **Guest 2: Well your entitled to believe what you want, but I'm after more than just writing a story in this. There's a point I really want to make in the final chapter of this story and I've been having a few really good conversations with people throughout it's existence, even with those who believe this story is wrong.**

 **Guest 3: Exactly, an evil dictator is an evil dictator, that's part of the point I want to make, but if I continue to explain, there will be major spoilers. I ask that you be patient and see where this story will end before deciding that I'm an offal person.**

 **hejrobin1 Thank you.**

 **Little NightFury17: Thank you, but I've also enjoyed hashing this out with the guest in most cases. I won't remove their comments because it's their honest opinion, and if I only left the praise people have left behind here, then I would be a very self-centered person. I value this person's comments and I think there's something people can get out of reading the conversation if they so desire to take the time and read it.**

 **Dragon Master 2016: Thanks, I wont stop writing this until it's finished, so don't worry, even if there are some long pauses between chapters.**

 **fruitfultruth: Lol, thanks. And that would be interesting to see. I could write some history books then, wouldn't that be interesting?**

 **Chapter 35**

The two figures gliding above a large settlement went unnoticed to the inhabitants down below. Around here, this was nothing strange.

"Wow, Hiccup… You've sure been busy." Astrid spoke in awe from the back of her Sand Wraith.

"It's still a work in progress, but one day, I hope to make Dragon's Edge the envy of the world." Hiccup replied with pride as he gave here the tour of the place as the two had enjoyed the warm afternoon sun.

"It truly is amazing." She praised as she took in the steady plumes of smoke that wafted lazily from the many chimneys that adorned the shops and homes that dotted the island. Dragons everywhere were either settling down for the night or stretching from a long day of napping and yet, not a single Viking was crying out in fear or attacking the beasts. All was peaceful as the two species lived together, side by side. It was a sight Astrid would never get out of her head.

There was a sturdy metal wall that encircled the entire village, but the many defensive catapults and giant cross bows that stood watch over the bay were all left unattended, even in the midst of the fire breathing beasts. A port facility was settled on the East side of the village with row upon row of ships lined along the docks and at anchor out in the bay. A large shipyard sat off to the side. It was empty at the moment, but in the morning an army of workers and dragons alike would descend upon the place. A steady supply of timbre brought by dragons from neighboring islands kept the shipyard stocked and the workers were easily able to pump out a brand-new ship every day if the need arose.

"It's a wonder that people aren't flocking here already."

"It been kept a secret from the world for the most part."

Astrid turned to Hiccup in surprise, "Why? And how? A place this big should be known to the whole world."

"Most of the homes here are empty actually. The world isn't ready for what we have here yet. Dragons and Vikings working and living together, side by side. If the world knew of us, they'd fear us, and fear leads to war. One day, we'll make ourselves known. Dragon's edge has been designed to grow, become one of the largest cities on the planet. Ships will bring goods from all over the world. Imagine, a utopia of technological and cultural supremacy. People will gather here to trade ideas, build off of each other, learn to live with dragons and live with each other peacefully. From within these walls, a new age will rise, but that can't happen right now. For now, we build the foundations of a great city and wait for the day when we can reveal ourselves to the world."

"It sounds wonderful. I can only hope that one day it will be a reality. Maybe you could do the same for Berk, they need you desperately."

Hiccup frowned at the mention of his old home, "I tried once, they made it clear that they didn't need me."

A tense silence descended on the duo for a minute and Astrid desperately looked for a change of subject.

"What's that thing over there?" she asked as she pointed over a large metal object near the shipyard.

Hiccup immediately brightened up and smiled at the change of topic. "That's the skeletal structure of the Night Fury, a ship of my own design. She's being constructed using a metal I call Gronkle Iron. It's lighter and stronger than anything you'll find anywhere else. She'll be fast, strong, agile and deadly, just like Toothless here." The dragon perked up and grinned his Toothless smile at the mention of his name, "When he's not trying to look cute that is." Hiccup quipped, earning him a sharp slap with an ear flap which made Astrid laugh.

 **"Your just mad because you can't pull this look off. You just look like a moody teenager all the time."**

Hiccup, to his credit, ignored the jab.

They altered their course to hover over the ship yard where Astrid got a better look at it. The ship was impressive. It was far from complete, but it was about 70 feet long with a sleek hull design and room for three masts. There were several metal tanks and piping below decks and gears and leavers throughout. What they were for, she could only guess.

"Why so complicated?"

Hiccup laughed, "when she's completed, she'll use a series of counterweights, gears and levers to be completely automatic. She should only need a crew of five and if need be, when she's finished, just one man."

Astrid raised an eye "That's possible?"

"It's difficult. I'm having problems with some of the rigging, but I believe it is." Hiccup replied before his attention was turned towards a Terror flying towards them. "What do we have here?" He asked himself as he held out his arm for the Terror to land on, before removing a device from it's leg and setting it free.

"What was that?" Astrid asked.

"Terror mail." Hiccup replied as he opened a note and read it quickly, his brow rising in slight confusion. "It seems I have some business I have to attend to. The South side of the village is virtually empty, take your pick."

"Wait, I get my own house?" Astrid asked. After years of living in the elements, it would be a welcome change.

"It's not like we don't have houses to spare."

Astrid took in the rows upon rows of houses whose chimneys were noticeably void of smoke, "Noted."

Hiccup smiled and glanced around at the village that was growing before him. "Yep, this place changes everything."

"It certainty does." Astrid paused when she noticed Hiccup staring into the distance. She followed his gaze to a rather large house at the base of the volcano. A familiar woman stood with her arms crossed on the balcony next to a large white bear. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"It will be if I don't go soon, so I better hurry."

Astrid nodded, "Well, I'll see you around."

"Bye, Astrid." Hiccup replied before he and Toothless banked away to go meet up with Toklo.

With a sigh, Astrid turned away and guided Quicksand to the South wall and landed in an open spot near the village, but far enough away to be private. After three years of flying around looking for Hiccup, she was not too used to Villages anymore. She quickly chose the nearest house and entered along with her dragon.

The first thing that struck her was the door was too narrow. Sure, she was able to easily make it through, but Quicksand had to squeeze to make it. This puzzled her, Quicksand was a small dragon, yet he was having trouble entering a house in a village teeming with dragons. It was odd, but she decided to let it pass in order to take in her surroundings.

It was cold and lonely. The floor was covered in a layer of dust and there was no furniture or wall decorations. The hearth was cold and there did not appear to be any firewood in the vicinity.

Astrid sighed. She should have known the house would be completely empty, but she had been hoping for a bed a little too much. "Well Quicksand, I guess it's back to the furs for tonight." The dragon cooed and Astrid smiled, "Come on, lets go get some firewood."

o~0~O~0~o

Hiccup and Toothless landed on the balcony with practised ease, but instead of being greeted warmly by Toklo as he expected, the young woman wore a somewhat annoyed expression.

"What?" he asked, as Toothless and Karpok started sniffing each other. It wasn't long before the two friends took off running in an impromptu game of tag.

Toklo stared pointedly at him with what he almost identified as a hint of suspicion… or maybe… disappointment? "I'm not sure I fully understand the dynamic between you two."

"Who, me and Astrid?"

"Yes, exactly. What is going on. I never once heard about her in all the time I've known you and yet, look at you two. Besides the meeting on Outcast island, you've hardly left her side since she woke up."

"She's… an old friend from Berk-"

"And that's exactly my point. You've never had anything good to say about Berk. You've vowed to destroy it multiple times. And now this random girl shows up from Berk and your showing her the ins and outs of this entire village." Toklo spoke while waving her arms dramatically, "How do you know she's not just here to get information out of you or analyze potential weaknesses?"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes and Toklo wasn't quite sure if it was because of what she said about Astrid, or her acknowledging that his designs may have potential weaknesses. "Astrid was the only one from Berk who actually saw what a dragon can be. She knew about Toothless before I left and she tried to help me get my people to see what the dragons really were."

"And yet you're the one who was forced from your home, not her."

"I was forced from my home because I was stupid enough to think people could change! Astrid had nothing to do with my banishment." Hiccup seethed.

Toklo's voice rose to challenge his own, "She rides a dragon, just the same as you do! So where was she in your exile? I'll tell here where she was, back on Berk! She still wants to help Berk, that's why she's here, is it not? Berk still accepts her; how do you know it's not because she succeeded where you failed! Berk could be using her to try and eliminate a threat?"

"Because she's not that type of person!"

"It's been three years Hiccup! How much do you really know about her? How much has she changed?"

Hiccup remained quiet.

Suspicious at the lack of a response, Toklo probed further, "How much did you know about her before you left?"

Hiccup's voice was much softer when he next spoke, "She was fierce, a warrior, and she was the most beautiful maiden on Berk. She was Berk's prodigy. Everyone expected her to become the next great dragon slayer after my father passed on… and besides my father, she was the person I looked up to the most."

"Anything more?" Toklo asked, her voice much gentler.

"No, not really. She avoided me whenever possible."

"That's not much Hiccup. Why are you defending her so much then? who was she to you?"

"She was everything I was not. She was strong, fierce. She was a fighter and praised by the entire village. She was everything a Viking should be. I looked up to her in so many ways. When she found me and Toothless and she accepted us. I thought I saw the beginnings of all my dreams coming true. I saw myself accepted by the entire village and standing by my father's side proudly. Things didn't work out the way I planned, but out of all the people on Berk, there's only two people I feel I owe. One was my mentor, Gobber. The other is Astrid."

Toklo remained silent for a moment, digesting the information and not fully believing that was all that was going on. There was something more to this. Did he care about her? A fleeting bout of jealousy passed over her before she quickly attempted to suppress it. Finally, she replied. "Just be careful Hiccup, I don't trust her. She's too close to your enemies."

Hiccup looked up and cocked a sly grin at her, "when am I not?"

CRACK!

The noise startled both of them and they quickly turned towards the source to find toothless on his back with Karpok pinning him to the ground. The two had started ruff housing and had rolled into one of the balcony's overhead supports, cracking it in two and causing the roof to sag.

"Guy's!" Hiccup called as he rushed over to break the two up. However, his prosthetic limb caught on a large splinter of wood and he just ended up crashing into the two large animals instead. The animals glanced at him in surprise for a second before they were both on him, pinning him to the ground and covering him in saliva.

"Guys! Stop!" Hiccup laughed as the two animals kept tickling him with their tongues, "You know that doesn't wash out!"

Toklo laughed, "Well Mr. Careful. Have fun getting yourself out of this mess. I'm heading inside. Goodnight Hiccup."

o~0~O~0~o

When Astrid and Quicksand arrived back at the house with enough firewood to last the night, the sun had already set. Not that it mattered much, they were used to being nocturnal anyways.

It didn't take her long to unroll her furs, get a fire roaring and change into her night clothes. Once the house was nice and toasty, she settled down for the night with Quicksand curled up beside her. However, sleep alluded her. She had so much she needed to do. She had three years to plan what she would do when she finally found Hiccup. She had every detail planned out, or so she had thought.

She had expected… well… Hiccup. She'd imagined a young boy, hurt, barely surviving. She had expected him to be bitter, miserable and hating the gods for his rotten lot in life. She had planned for if he hated her, planned for if he had fallen into her arms, a puddle of tears. She'd prepared all the arguments she could think of for him not wanting to come back to Berk. She'd tell him of how Gobber missed him, of how his father loved him, no matter what he said and of how Berk needed his talent and his gift of dragons. But none of that had happened.

This Hiccup she had found was so different from the boy she had imagined. For one he was a man now. A man who looked well armed with armour so intricate she couldn't imagine all the things it could do. He was missing a leg, and yet he stood with much more confidence than she could ever expect and he flew Toothless with more grace than she and Quicksand could even dream of. Not only had he survived, but he could handle the Outcasts and was the head of an entire village which was thriving under his care and he had more vision than she could even imagine. He was so much more than she could have ever dreamed of and now, she had no idea what to do.

Berk needed him, but he no longer had a need for Berk and she no longer knew how to reconcile the two back together.

It was with these thoughts in her head that sleep finally overtook her.

o~0~O~0~o

It was a sharp knock on the door that woke Astrid up the next morning. She opened her eyes with a groan. Having a nocturnal schedule also meant being used to late mornings. When she heard a second knock, she sighed and got up while shouting "Ya, ya… Give me a minute." At the door, which earned her a slap from Quicksand's tail for disturbing his sleep.

"Don't blame me, blame whoever's at the door." She tiredly complained.

Quicksand just grunted and tried to go back to sleep.

After throwing some clothes on, she opened the door to find a middle-aged man dressed in decent, but plain clothes. He definitely wasn't viking. His face was too pretty and his frame too lean. He had a few small battle scars, nothing too deep, but something was off. If he once was a fighting man, he wasn't anymore. His stance was cowed, like he was a shell of his former self.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Miss Hofferson?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"Ah… My… Name, Maecius. I bring… furniture… to you." He spoke in broken Norse.

Ok, he definitely wasn't a Viking, but Hiccup had said that the world didn't know of this place, so what was he doing here?

"Where are you from?"

The man's face contorted in confusion for a minute before answering, "Rome."

Now it was Astrid's turn to be confused, "What's a Roman doing here?"

"I, captive."

"You mean you're a slave."

"Yes… Head slave."

Astrid didn't know what to make of this new information. Hiccup had been in a war with Rome? And if Maecius was any indication, he had won? More importantly, he was capable of taking slaves? The Hiccup she knew, the one who made peace with their hated enemy, was now capable of war and instituting slavery, a practice that had been banned in the Archipelago for nearly 100 years! What type of man had he become? Who was she dealing with now? She had to know.

"Furniture, miss?"

Astrid looked past Maecius to see many other slaves standing around with various pieces of furniture, ready to move it in. There was a bed (Thank goodness), kitchen supplies, food, lamps… she even saw many bags of sand obviously meant for her dragon. Hiccup had obviously thought of everything. "Yes… bring it all in." She replied distractedly while dozens of questions ran through her mind. What all exactly had happened while he'd been away? What trouble had he gotten into? Was he capable of killing? The sword strapped to his side all of a sudden didn't look like it was just for show.

This village wasn't what she thought it was, nor had Hiccup grown into the man she had hoped. What exactly was going on, she wasn't too sure, but she was going to find out.

 **(A/N) Hey guys, thanks for reading this. So, as you probably noticed, I was trying to get this out two weeks after I posted the last chapter, and now it's been about two and a half months. Way too long, and I'm sorry for that. I got behind in my school work and was focused mainly on getting caught up again.**

 **Another thing that pushed my schedule back is a bit of confusion. This story has strayed off the original plot line somewhat. Not enough to be a huge deal, I can get this back on track easily enough, but I need to take some time to get my thoughts straight so I can make this story even better for you guys. So, I'm going to put this story on a temporary HAITUS for now. I'm hoping it will only be for a month or two as I rearrange my plot line and while I'm at, go through my previous chapters and make a few revisions. Mostly just grammatical and spelling errors, but I'll try and fix a few plot holes as well. Any major changed I make will be outlined before I post the next chapter.**

 **I want to thank you all for your support and hopefully I'll see you guys in a month or two.**


	36. Chapter 36

**(A/N) HELLO AGAIN! I'M BACK! The Hiatus is over! I originally went on Hiatus so that I could get a fresh perspective on the story and adjust my plot line match with the turn that the story ended up taking. However, when I finished editing my old work to get a firm understanding on where the story was heading and actually started working on fixing the plot line, it ended up being a whole lot easier to scrap what I had and start from scratch, which is why this took so long. Sorry, but what I ended up with I am so much more exited about.**

 **One thing to keep in mind, for those who skipped out on the editing update that I uploaded, go back and check it out. There were a few important changes that I made to the story which I outlined there.**

 **Also… WE HIT 300 FOLLOWS AND ARE ONE AWAY FROM BREAKING 250 FAVOURITES! WOW! You guys are awesome. The support that I get really makes me want to keep going and I can't thank you enough. I also love hearing from you guys and discussing aspects about the story in the form of both reviews and PM's so keep them coming! And if any of you are artistically inclined, I'd love to see any artwork you guys would want to make of this story. I do have a Facebook page that can be found by searching CdnChrgr on Facebook. It's something that I recently created to help prepare the way for a project that I want to take on soon, so that would be a good place to send any fanart.**

 **So, in other words, I'm happy to be back, check out those changes, keep engaging and have fun reading.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Cryptodraconis noctis: No, it will be one or the other very soon. I just won't tell you which one yet.**

 **Brenne: Thank you. It's always nice to get an update out.**

 **jimster3644: No promises either way, but I will say that I am a stickler for a good tragedy in literature.**

 **CajunBear73: Couldn't have said it better myself.**

 **The Artificer42: Thank you.**

 **Little NightFury17: Thank you as well.**

 **Jusen Uzukaze: Thank you. That is one of the reasons I wrote this story to begin with. As I told jimster, I love tragedies. There aren't enough of them.**

 **Guest 1: It's coming.**

 **Samateus-Taal: Thank you. And I agree that talking to all Alphas would help Hiccup out tremendously. That's why I removed the ability.**

 **LameJokeGuy: In some ways yes, but in other ways it makes sense. Astrid was the first person to actually see what Hiccup was capable of and that moment changed her whole perspective on him. But then again, this is a work of fiction so I'm not going to get to hung up on what really would have happened. It can be spun so many ways, which is why we have over 16k fanfictions dedicated to HTTYD on this site.**

 **tefe203: Noted, but Hiccup is still an Alpha, even if he can no longer talk to all Alphas. The fact that he can only talk to Toothless now is just a testament to how close his relationship with the NightcFury is compared to other dragons.**

 **Also, Astrid is still an important part of the story. The whole gang is still actually.**

 **Chapter 36**

Once again, she found herself on the verge of falling off the bed when she woke up.

"Lazy Polar Bear" Toklo grumbled. Karpok was currently doing his best to keep his large body on her bed.

"Alright, move over." Toklo grunted as she tried to push the white bear to his own side. The bear opened an eye and groaned, but otherwise did not acknowledge her efforts and went back to sleep.

Toklo sighed. She had to get Hiccup to get her a larger bed. The bed was one of the perks of living with the Vikings, when she wasn't being pushed off it. Up North they always slept on snow covered by furs.

Resigning herself to the fact she wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that morning, Toklo got up and grabbed a comb to straighten her bed head.

The sound of feet shuffling on the floor outside her room caught her attention and she spotted shadows moving underneath the door. Toklo frowned. She was usually the early riser. Hiccup and Toothless were generally creatures of the night and slept in as much as possible. It wasn't uncommon for him to wake up well after lunch. It was unheard of for him to wake up this early. The sun was barely poking it's head up over the horizon.

Though some might see it scandalous for the two of them to be staying in the same house together, it made things much more convenient when it came to governing Dragon's Edge or discussing various political engagements going on within the archipelago. Plus, neither of them really cared much for the Viking's opinion of them.

Ever cautious of the possibility the shuffling feet on the other side of her door wasn't Hiccup, she grabbed her sword and kept it close. Though the bow and arrow was her preferred weapon, it wasn't practical up close and so she had become quite proficient with the weapon, just in case.

Soon, whoever it was had passed, leaving her to her thoughts. Toklo shrugged and continued getting ready for the day.

She walked out into the hall with Karpok following dutifully behind her. Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted Hiccup's door open and nobody sleeping inside. He was up to something.

Her curiosity piqued, she went looking for him. He wasn't anywhere in the house, nor was he at the shipyard overseeing the final preparations of his new metal ship that he was so proud of. It was only when she started asking around that she learned that he and Toothless had been spotted heading toward the training arena.

The sun was already high in the sky by the time she arrived.

The arena was something of an oddity in the barbaric archipelago. Where most training rings the Vikings used were chipped out of natural depressions in the land, the ring and surrounding seating on Dragon's Edge had been carved directly into the face of the Volcano, something that was only possible through the use of slaves and explosive Zippleback gas canisters.

The ring itself was about 200 feet long and 75 feet wide with walls 20 feet high. It was easily bigger than any other ring in the archipelago. It was missing the signature metal cage that most Viking settlements used to keep dragons from flying off during a fight and the floor lacked the traditional stone Vikings used. Instead, Hiccup had brought in many tons of white sandstone he had found on a nearby island and covered it in an inch of sand in order to make it stand out even more from the rest of the archipelago. Dragons were used to keep the ring free of the snow that was blowing everywhere. Overall, it had a look about it that spoke of opulence and power. The power to bend the very earth to your will.

Hiccup stood in the center of the ring practising some more advance moves upon a set of wooden dummies with his sword. As was the norm when he was training, the ring was empty except for the black lizard snoozing off to the side. If you were around when the young man was training, you were likely to get dragged in. A training session with Hiccup the Horrendous often meant a trip to the healers with either broken bones or several lacerations. He had yet to kill anyone yet however.

Toklo walked gracefully through the ring's entrance and made her way over to Hiccup. Karpok quickly spotted his dragon friend and ran over to go rouse Toothless from his slumbering. The movement caught Hiccup's attention and he smiled when he looked up to see her.

"Toklo!" Hiccup greeted cheerfully, "How's it going?"

"Can't complain." She replied, "What has you up so early?"

"Hiccup's grin faltered a little, "Astrid caught sight of my sword yesterday. She became pretty interested in it's peculiar design and wanted to see me use it in action, so she challenged me to a duel as soon as we were both up today."

A twinge of jealousy made itself known inside of her and Toklo quickly shoved it away. After the men stopped coming to the kill ring to train when Hiccup was around, sparing together had become their thing and now this new girl wanted in on it. She looked around and failed to spot the girl in question with some satisfaction, "I don't see her around anywhere."

"Ya, its strange." Hiccup replied, relieved that Toklo had said nothing about his upcoming spar with Astrid. "When we were on Berk she was always up with the dawn to train. I would have figured she'd be here long ago."

"Well, as long as she isn't here, want to give it a go?" Toklo questioned.

Hiccup's grin returned full force as he readied his blade. Toklo took her que and drew her own sword. However, instead of falling into a defensive stance, she walked about 10 feet away and began to draw a circle in the sand. Hiccup knew the meaning. The fight would end when one of the managed to either overpower the other, or pushed them out of the ring. This was not strictly a fight of skill, but of strategy as well.

With the circle complete, Toklo walked back to her starting spot and raised her sword in a defensive stance, ready for anything.

It was Hiccup who struck first with a swift, but strong downwards swing. Deathly black steel met bright silver as Toklo expertly blocked the blow with her own. A normal sword would have been cleaved in two by the strike, but this sword had been crafted by Hiccup and given to her personally by him. It was a beautifully decorated weapon that had the image of a bear connecting the blade to the hilt, was lined with white rabbit fur around the pommel and had been expertly forged out of Gronkle iron. It would not break.

Quick as lightning, the two separated and returned to their defensive stances. Once again, they began circling each other, each of them looking for an opening.

"You know, I wanted to talk to you anyways." Hiccup said.

"Oh?" Toklo questioned as she took a swing at Hiccup's side.

"Yep." Hiccup replied as he sidestepped the swing and lunged at the opening Toklo had left. The young women in front of him would not be beaten so easily however and opted to duck under the blade and took a step into his personal space before quickly standing to hit Hiccup's shoulder with her own. She put her full weight into the shove, intending to knock him to the ground. Hiccup was forced to take the blunt of the blow, but adjusted his stance and pushed off the ground as she hit him, allowing him to turn his newfound momentum into a backwards summersault and jumped back to his feet. He'd lost a few feet, but was otherwise none the worse for the wear and Toklo had been unable to take advantage of his compromised position.

"I wanted to discuss our meeting with Dagur, Alvin and Skuld." Hiccup continued as the two began circling each other again.

"What about it?" She asked as she sidestepped another swing from Hiccup, but was unable to do anything else and fell back to the defensive. The maneuver had cost her a few feet and they were now back to where they had begun.

"I wanted to let you in on what I'm planning. Most of what I said there was true, but not all of it."

"I don't know why you don't just get rid of them." Toklo pointed out as she aimed a swing at Hiccup's legs. Hiccup jumped over the blade and twisted in the air, allowing him to swing his sword at his opponent with great power. Toklo had to duck back in order to block the blow and was forced to take a few steps back before they both fell back to their defensive postures once again.

"So, which parts weren't true?"

"The parts where we need them." Hiccup replied as he absorbed a few of Toklo's attacks with his blade. "Alvin and Dagur both will have to go at some point."

"I thought you wanted to keep around?" Toklo grunted through gritted teeth as she doubled her efforts, forcing Hiccup back to the center of the circle."

"Right now, they're serving their purpose." Hiccup replied as he feinted right, only to send a kick at her exposed left side, resulting in him regaining some ground. "They're both easily manipulated and give their respective tribes legitimate leaders while keeping us out of the spot light, but they'll dispose of us both the first chance they get. Probably each other as well."

Toklo nodded, before going in for another strike, "So, what are we going to do about them then?"

"We keep them around until we're ready to make our move, then we get rid of them. I have enough influence with the rest of their tribes to take over whenever I want." Hiccup answered as he unleashed a barrage of deadly accurate jabs to Toklo's midsection. It was only a testament of Toklo's many years of combat practise that saved her from impalement, though she did lose several feet in the process.

"What about Skuld?" the young women asked as she aimed another swing at Hiccup's chest.

To her surprise, instead of blocking, he stabbed at her blade, managing to catch it between the two points of his own. He then let the momentum of her sword carry both weapons towards the ground and twisted his blade, yanking her sword from her grasp and sending it flying. It landed stuck up out of the dirt, mere inched from the edge of the circle.

She kicked a pile of sand into Hiccup's eyes, temporarily blinding him. It was a tactic she'd used many times before, though usually she still had her weapon. It had forced him to learn how to listen to defend himself, making him an even deadlier opponent in real battle.

"Ah!" Hiccup yelled and attempted to clear his eyes while Toklo ran back for her blade. "Skuld isn't needed, but he can still be useful." Hiccup answered her previous question through gritted teeth while he cleared the last of the sand from his eyes and raced to pin Toklo against the edges of the circle again. He'd lost a few feet by the time they managed to regain their defensive positions, but he still had the advantage. "He and his tribe owe me a blood debt. Honor demands he obey me. Still, he should be watched."

Toklo nodded, "And what if he does have to be removed from the equation?" She asked.

"That's where things get a little dicey." Hiccup replied as he began striking at Toklo before retreating a few steps and beginning again. Each blow was aimed to be strong and precise, knocking her back a few feet while he himself remained too far away for her to retaliate. He was quickly able to gain back several feet this way, nearly knocking her out of the circle. "His tribe is too loyal to allow for any form of bribery or extortion."

Toklo locked blades with Hiccup in order to check his advance and held her ground. "So, in other words?" She grunted.

"I don't know what we do if that time comes." He replied as he began pressing down on her blade, she'd have to either give in soon or retreat, either of which would make him the victor… finally. She did neither. Apparently, she'd been going easy on him during his training with the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's. Ever since she'd arrived on Dragon's Edge, she'd been giving it her all and now was no exception.

Instead, she dropped and kicked at his legs, forcing him to topple forward, over the line. At the last second before his body hit the ground, Hiccup managed to twist around and grabbed Toklo's wrist, to her great surprise, and pulled her down with him. They both landed across the line in a tangle of limbs, slightly out of breath and laughing to each other.

"Tie?" Hiccup asked while smiling up at the girl who had landed on him.

Toklo returned the gesture, "I don't know, it would seem I still have you pinned to the ground."

Hiccup laughed, fair enough, "I should have seen that coming anyways. One of these days, I will best you."

Toklo rolled off of him to stare up at the sun. It was almost noon by now and there was still no sign of Astrid. "Nice move catching my sword with your own. I never saw that coming. You need to develop that more."

"Thanks, I will."

"Best two out of three?" She asked.

"Your on."

After their fifth match, of which Toklo won all five seeing as how she had far more experience, Astrid finally made an appearance. The battlefield was a mess at that point and so Hiccup ordered some slaves to go and rake the sand back to smooth perfection before his and Astrid's spar would begin. Their efforts were in vain on the far side of the ring however as Quicksand had gathered a pile of sand and buried himself in it. To make matters worse, both Toothless and Karpok were attempting to dig him out and get him to play.

The three of them choose to sit on the sidelines as they waited for the slaves to finish and Hiccup noticed something was troubling Astrid right away.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

Astrid took her eyes off the slaves working below and debated what she should say to him. She had wanted to talk to him privately, but now he had asked and she wasn't sure if she'd ever work up the nerve again. "You've changed. So much." She finally began.

Hiccup laughed, "So have you. You would have been here at the crack of dawn back on Berk."

Astrid smiled, "Ya, well, me and Quicksand are usually creatures of the night. It's easier on his scales. Sorry, I figured you would have been as well with the Night Fury and everything."

"Usually I am," Hiccup replied, "but that's not all, is it?"

"No." Astrid continued after a moment of silence. "You just seem like such a contradiction to the Hiccup I used to know."

"How so?"

"You stand taller, your sure of yourself."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Hiccup smiled proudly.

"But, then there's the slaves." Astrid continued, pointing to the people working down below, "Where… How did you get them?"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes and Astrid noticed Toklo seemed to be studying her, as if trying to figure her out.

Hiccup choose his words carefully, "The Romans came to the Archipelago. They were a threat, so I took them out before they had a chance to do anything."

"And that's just what I'm talking about." Astrid pressed, "You showed a Night Fury mercy. The very creature that instills fear in the mind of all Vikings. The Hiccup I knew would have attempted to talk with the Romans, cripple their efforts even, but he would have chosen violence only as a last measure. Now I fear you've become the very nightmare you once attempted to get rid of."

Hiccup was quiet, not really sure how to answer, so Astrid pressed further. "I just… I don't know what your capable of now, what you value or what your plans are. I don't know you anymore, and that scares me."

Hiccup looked like he wanted to answer, but a pointed glare from Toklo shut him up. Astrid knew she should have waited until he had Hiccup alone, but she had come this far. She was going to get some answers.

"I need an answer Hiccup. Who are you now? What have you become?"

The look on Astrid's face made him want to answer her so badly, but Toklo's warning kept swimming around in his head and if he did tell her, Astrid would hate him and leave him forever. He'd lose one of the few friends he actually had.

"I'm the one who ended the war between Dragon's and Vikings. I'm the one who drove the Romans from these waters. I'm the one who keeps the Outcasts and the Berserkers in check. I'm the one who has brought absolute peace to the archipelago for the first time in over 300 years. I am the one my enemies call Hiccup the Horrendous, and to those who find themselves on my side… well that remains to be seen." It wasn't an absolute lie. He'd actually done all of those things. He'd just left out the part about what it was all building to. One day she'd find out, but for now, she didn't need to know. He just hoped that she would accept the answer.

Astrid wasn't buying it. Nothing about what he'd said told her he was lying, but he was definitely leaving something out. What it was, she didn't know, but he wasn't likely to share with her right now. She'd heard rumors on occasion over the course of her travels, none of which she had believed, but now, it was looking more and more likely that they were true in some form or the other. She just didn't know which ones were true or how exaggerated they had been. She needed to ask him. She'd get down to the bottom of this, but with the way Toklo was glaring at her and attempting to keep Hiccup quiet, she knew the only way she'd get her answers was in private.

"Alright." She finally answered, she'd confront him later. With a glance down to the ring, she noticed the slaves had finished raking the sand smooth. Good, she needed to get away from the northern girl anyways, "I'm going to go warm up." She called as she got up and ran over to the entrance.

"What did I tell you?" Toklo asked when she was sure Astrid was out of ear shot, "She's probing, trying to see what your made of."

"Yeah…" Hiccup replied distractedly.

"You don't want to lose her, do you?"

Hiccup turned to face her and sighed, "No."

"What happens when we start making moves, especially against Berk?"

"I don't know."

The two sat in silence as they watched Astrid warm up with a few practise swings with her axe, some push ups and sit ups.

"Toss the fight."

What?" Hiccup asked, shocked at Toklo's suggestion.

"She wants to know what your capable of. If she doesn't think you can fight well, that's something you have over her. Make it seem like you only know the basics. Don't show off and don't use your sword's special abilities. Just make it more convincing than your 'I'm the one' speech."

Hiccup mulled it over. What she said made sense and he trusted Toklo completely. She wouldn't steer him wrong. "Alright, but afterwards we get the Night Fury ready to launch. We have to meet up with Drago soon and figure out what exactly is going on. The trip will be a good opportunity to test her out."

Toklo nodded. After this meeting they would have the full picture and be able to figure their next steps out from there.

o~0~O~0~o

Skuld watched as a boat silently ground to a halt against the icy snow on a secluded beach on Dragon's Edge. A proud, but ruff looking man jumped out and strode up the shore line. Alvin the Treacherous. Following him onto the beach was his second in command, Savage.

Nervously he glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching. The only person he saw was Dagur the Deranged and a few of his men, who had arrived under the cover of darkness only a half hour before. The only reason he was attempting this at all was because both Hiccup and Toklo were off the island. They had left to go meet with that Drago fellow along with that new girl.

With everyone accounted for, Skuld called Dagur over and met up with Alvin.

"My apologies for not going to meet with you on one of your islands. Hiccup's been keeping a watchful me on me lately."

"Le's skip tha pleasantries, What 'ave ya called us tagether fer Skuld?" Alvin drawled.

"I wanted to discuss the problem that Hiccup has become."

"The problem? What problem?" Dagur asked. "Seems to me he's doing a pretty great job of things."

"He's reckless and power hungry. The Lava Louts may no longer be subject to the might of Rome, but we've traded one slave master for another. Ever since we've returned to the archipelago we've been confined to our island. He's kept our entire tribe a secret from the world. My people are getting restless and I can't do anything about it." Skuld lamented, "And I know you for one don't like him either." He accused as he pointed to Alvin.

"Aye." Alvin agreed, "He seems ta think he has power over me. He already has power over you." Alvin pointed to Skuld, "It's only a matter a time before he turns on you too Dagur."

"Hahahaha, let him try!" Dagur challenged, "Then he'll be met with the force of my 50 Berserkers ships filled to the brim with warriors. He won't know what hit him!"

"He took on Rome and won!" Skuld yelled, "He's sunk armada's far larger than yours. He's powerful, that's for sure. The problem is, he doesn't finish the job. He angered Rome and challenged Nero directly, but then he let him go. Its only a matter of time before the archipelago faces the full wrath of Rome and he admitted to me that he isn't yet ready to fight them fully! He's left too much to chance if you ask me. He saved our tribe and doomed us to destruction at the same time."

"So, what do we do then?" Dagur asked.

"We get rid of Hiccup."

"Yer speakin' my tune there Skuld." Alvin laughed, "But what then? Without Hiccup, taking over tha archipelago will be nearly impossible. Even with all yer ships Dagur, if they all band tagether as one they'll outnumber us. An' wha' do we do once Drago or tha Romans come?"

"We ban together with the Romans. There coming anyways and no one will be able to stop them once they arrive. It would be better to work with them rather than be destroyed by them. At least then we'd live with at least some security. We'd most likely earn positions of power inside Rome's new province once everything's all said and done."

Alvin narrowed his eyes, "Trade 'iccup fer tha Romans? I don't think so. Alvin tha Treacherous bows fer none. I'll fight 'iccup an tha Romans if I 'ave ta."

"And you'll likely be put to death for your troubles." Skuld pointed out.

"Better ta die honourably than ta submit like a coward."

Skuld rolled his eyes, "What do you think Dagur?"

"I'm not sure about the Romans. As for Hiccup, we'd lose the dragons if we betray him, which would hinder any attempts to defend ourselves, let alone take over the archipelago, but it sounds like his ambition is dangerous. I agree, he has to go."

"So, it's settled then. The first chance we get, we assassinate Hiccup, then figure out what to do from there." Skuld suggested.

Alvin and Dagur nodded in agreement.

"There's a few flaws however." Dagur pointed out as he contemplated how to go about killing the young man. "That dragon of his is by his side constantly. We might be able to take Hiccup by surprise, but that Night Fury of his will kill whoever lays a hand on him and even if we somehow managed to kill the Night Fury first, Hiccup is almost as deadly as that dragon. That's even before we get to his girlfriend."

"As far as I know, there not together. I think Hiccup has feelings for someone else, but I'm not too sure what's going on." Skuld talked to himself absentmindedly. "You are right however; his dragon will be a problem. I don't think it has to die though. We just kill Hiccup when the Night Fury isn't around. It's a dragon, how will it know what happened to it's master if it wasn't there. Toklo will have to be disposed of soon after though, she'll easily put two and two together and come after us. At the same time, we can't kill her first without tipping Hiccup off. But if she finds out we killed him, I fear the three of us would be dead men."


	37. Chapter 37

**(A/N) Hey guys, I'm back a week later! YAY! It's not a month or two like it was before the Hiatus. I'm hoping to start updating every Monday at this point, so look forward to that.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **tefe203: I'll keep that in mind.**

 **Brenne: I'm honestly not sure how I can reply to this without spoiling anything, but you're on the right track.**

 **Guest 1: If this is who I think it is, wow. I thought you were gone. But, yes, Astrid is still a part of this and I don't really see why you have a lot of penance to do. We both agree that this is not Hiccup at his best, and still that is the point of the story. Just wait until the end and I'm sure the conclusion will be something that even you are satisfied with. Now, if you are going to just continue complaining, I won't remove your comments, but I will actually start ignoring you this time if you don't come up with something new.**

 **CajunBear73: That is for me to know and you to find out :D**

 **rpglady76: This is my new explanation, makes a lot more sense than what I had in my head without changing anything. I was just trying to get the idea across that Hiccup is the only dragon rider of those under his command besides Toklo. Though Toklo much prefers her Polar bear.**

 **TheWhisperingWarrior: Maybe, maybe not.**

 **Master of Energy: I'm still not revealing once and for all what the pairing is. Give me about 4-6 chapters and I will, but I won't stop you from guessing. Also, it's great to see other Christians here too!**

 **The-real-dragon-rider: Thanks. It's always great to get reviews like this. As for the relationship, I'm going to tell you the same thing as Master of Energy. Give me 4-6 chapters and I'll reveal to the world once and for all.**

 **Surayo: Thanks!**

 **dragonFANFICTION: I AM INDEED! Its always good being among the land of the living. That being said, I'm not going to be opposed to dying if God decided to send me home, but I'm quite happy being here. But thanks for the compliments.**

 **LameJokeGuy: Don't worry, this fic will be nothing like that. I'd actually find it extremely surprising if any of you guessed what happens when it comes to Hiccup's relationships and his reactions.**

 **Chapter 37**

Three weeks of sailing had seen many leagues pass under the hull of the Night Fury, much to Hiccup's satisfaction. It was a fast ship. While it was maybe not as fast as flying on the back of a dragon, having a quick, mobile base of operations would be vital in the future.

Toklo and Astrid seemed to be grateful for it. The ship allowed Astrid and Quicksand to travel while remaining out of the suns rays. Both were currently below deck waiting for night to fall. Meanwhile, Toklo was tanning herself on the deck with Karpok. How she managed to wear only a breast binding and undergarments he had no idea. Not that he was looking or anything, not enough that she would catch onto at least.

 **"Enough already." Toothless groaned, with an annoyed look on his face, "Just mate with her and be done with it."**

"What!" Hiccup squawked, catching Toklo's attention.

"What's wrong?" She called out.

"Err- Nothing." Hiccup answered, while his cheeks turned a shade of red.

Toklo laughed, "Come on, you can tell me."

"Toothless just- ugh…" Hiccup squirmed, trying to think up an answer. Toothless refused to let him talk his way out of this one however and grabbed him by the back of his shirt so he could drag him over to the young women.

"Toothless! Let go you useless reptile!"

The dragon grinned and threw him onto the half nude women, who shrieked with laughter. Hiccup had suddenly found himself in a tangle of limbs with the young women and staring down at her. Both of their cheeks darkened in embarrassment as they realized how close together they were, but that didn't deter Toklo from her laughing.

"Sorry!" Hiccup shrieked as he tried to get up, but before he could scramble away, Toothless had them both pinned against each other with one of his paws holding them down. "TOOTHLESS, GET OFF!" he shouted angerly, but the lizard refused to give.

"Karpok!" Toklo called, still laughing a little, but the Polar Bear refused to let this end either, content to watch the show.

 **"He agrees with me."** Toothless pointed out smugly, even though he knew only Hiccup could hear him.

"Don't make me do it!" Hiccup threatened.

 **"Do what?"** Toothless asked a moment before he felt nimble fingers scratching at his lower jaw. Hiccup quickly found the spot he was looking for and Toothless passed out in bliss, flopping off of the pair in the process.

Of course, Astrid chose that moment to walk out onto the deck. It was her turn for her cheeks to go red as she saw what was going on. "Wow, Toklo, that's some birthday present." She jeered.

This time Toklo couldn't hold back and let laughter flow freely from her lips as she saw the look on Hiccup's face. It was priceless. Hiccup quickly stood up and tried to think up an excuse.

"It's not like that!" He stammered as he straightened his armour.

"Oh, so you didn't want some young half nude woman crawling all over you on your birthday?" Astrid jeered.

"No… I… Uhh…" He started, before he saw the look on Toklo's face, "No… it's not like that! Just… uhh…"

Toklo was enjoying her friend's predicament and decided to continue Astrid's teasing. So, she stood up and started to drape herself over him, "Relax Hiccup. You never told me today was your birthday…" She said seductively, tracing his jaw line with one of her finger's. "I've got nothing else right now, maybe this would be a good birthday present."

Hiccup's face was going redder and redder with each passing moment and you could almost see the gears turning slower in his mind.

"Enough!" He cried out as he pushed himself away. "I uhh… I need a shower." He declared as he turned and made his way down below deck.

When Hiccup was gone, the two girls turned to each other and began laughing as hard as they could. It was the first moment the two had shared that hadn't been tense.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Astrid nearly cried.

"I haven't seen him act that way ever." Toklo said with a large grin on her face as she stared to put her clothes back on.

"The way he stuttered over his words."

"Or the fact that he had no clue what to do!"

"I don't think his face could have gotten any redder."

"He's always so sure of himself! It was fun seeing him squirm for once." Toklo grinned as the laughter began to die down.

"He's so much different from when I knew him on Berk." Astrid reminisced, "That was almost like the real him again."

Toklo narrowed her eyes as she remembered who she was speaking to again, "What you see is the real him. The Hiccup you knew is only a reflection of what he is now. He's strong, smart, capable and willing to do whatever must be done… no matter what or who gets in his way."

Astrid noticed the shift in Toklo's demeaner. It was then that she realized what exactly must be done. This woman had a hold on Hiccup. He trusted her and his treatment on Berk had probably left him desiring solid relationships a little too much. It wasn't impossible to think that he might be willing to do what wasn't right in order to keep her by his side. If she wanted to reconcile Hiccup and Berk back together, the first step she must take would be to get rid of her.

"Even you?" She asked.

"I would never!"

"Really? What is the worst Hiccup is capable of? Ask yourself, would you do it too?" Astrid asked and was pleased to get the reaction she was looking for.

A flash of pain crossed Toklo's eyes as she remembered a time Hiccup had order the deaths of over 200 slaves just because they knew too much. She hadn't been able to do it. Killing in war was something she could deal with. Forcing other, lesser beings to do her bidding, she could handle, but the wholesale slaughter of those who couldn't defend themselves… that was where she drew the line.

As quick as the thoughts crossed her mind, she expelled them. Hiccup was a great man and she would follow him no matter what. Anger radiated off her in waves, "Hell yes." She seethed.

Astrid searched the young woman's face, looking for the hint of pain that she had seen. It was gone, but it had been there, "Good to know. How long until we get to the fort?" She asked, changing the subject. She was dying to get off the ship. The trip from Dragon's Edge to the remains of Lava Lout island had taken them five days. It was an impressive feat as a voyage on any other ship would have taken a week and a half. The problem was, Drago hadn't been there. He appeared to be a paranoid individual and had sent one of his men to give them directions to his true location, that way there could be no ambush. Their new heading was taking them to the East, well off of Hiccup's expanded map. So far, they had been sailing toward the new location for 15 days and she was getting tired of being cooped up.

Toklo was still seething, "According to Drago's man, we should be arriving sometime tomorrow."

"Good." Was Astrid's reply, "The sooner we meet the demon, the better."

o~0~O~0~o

"Here goes nothing." Hiccup said to the two girls as the ship rounded a rock outcropping and their destination came into view. He turned to Toklo and nodded, "Good luck."

The girl returned the gesture and climbed on Karpok's back before the two of them slid off the stern and into the ocean. They would swim to shore and find a location from which to watch what was going on. Hopefully, she would be able to learn what Hiccup and Astrid could not as well as be able to provide some back up if things went wrong.

With Toklo safely away, Hiccup turned his attention to Astrid, "You ready?" He asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be to meet the man prophesized to destroy my village." She replied.

Hiccup nodded before digging into Toothless' saddle bag and pulling out a helmet designed to mimic the Night Fury's facial features.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "don't you think you're taking this mysterious dragon rider stuff a little too far?

"Hey, it might give me a bit of an edge if they can't see my face. It will make me a bit more intimidating."

"Have you used it before?"

"Not often. But I figured I'd start. It offers better protection in a fight anyways."

"Well a meeting with Drago Bludvist probably won't be the best place to pull it out for the first time. It will only make things awkward."

Hiccup thought about it for a second before nodding and attaching the mask to his hip, "Speaking of which, I was thinking, it might be better if I do the talking. I am the one they want to meet after all."

She nodded in agreement. Out of the three of them, she was the one who knew the least about what they were getting into anyways. Plus, he was the one who was good at coming up with plans.

Hiccup eased the ship up to the dock and ran to toss some rope to the men waiting there. Starting and stopping the ship he realized was a bit difficult with just one person. He could have gotten Astrid to help him, but he wanted to know if it was possible. From his success, apparently it was.

With the ship successfully berthed, both Astrid and Hiccup walked down the gang plank with Toothless following and took in their surroundings. The fort was a large wooden structure with high walls, ballista's, a tall tower and many, many cages, most of which were full of dragons.

An older man with greying hair, a tattooed face and fur clothing walked toward them, "Welcome to the Fort of Eret. I am the elder of the two Erets, the greatest dragon trappers alive, at your service." He greeted with a strange accent.

Hiccup chanced a quick glance towards Astrid with a raised eyebrow. She seemed to share his disgust of professional dragon trapping, but missed the true meaning in his eyes. He already didn't like this Eret, and those he didn't like usually ended up dead.

Shrugging his personal feelings aside, he addressed the dragon trapper with an outstretched hand, "Hiccup the Horrendous, and this is Toothless." He greeted while pointing to the black dragon standing regally behind him.

"Well met." Eret replied as he shook Hiccup's hand, not allowing the Night Fury to phase him in the least bit, or at least not allowing himself to show any fear. "And who might this beauty be?" he asked, gesturing to the young woman standing next to him.

"I'm Astrid." She replied and took the offered hand, "My dragon's down in the hold. He's not a big fan of sunlight."

Eret smiled and nodded, "Seems like you've got quite the catch here, such a strong and powerful man. Why, Drago's been extremely impressed by the cunning and ruthlessness he's showed in the past. No doubt his blade is coated with the blood of his enemies. You'll be well looked after by him."

Hiccup had to physically restrain himself from facepalming. He knew bringing Astrid here was a bad idea. If they continued on like this, she'd leave him for sure. Though he couldn't tell the man to shut up with her around, there was one thing he needed to make clear. "W-"

"I DO NOT NEED TO BE LOOKED AFTER!" Astrid yelled while drawing her axe, "And I challenge any man who thinks I do!"

Hiccup almost sighed in relief. Astrid was focusing on one thing and one thing only, maybe she would miss what Eret had said about his ruthlessness.

Eret raised his hands in surrender, "My apologies miss Astrid. That's not at all what I meant. It's just that you have a very powerful man here. You stand to become one of the most powerful Chieftesses in the history of Vikings, that's all."

"Were not together." Hiccup pointed out. "Astrid's just an old friend that I ran into again not to long ago. She's relatively new to the art of dragon riding and I've taken her on as an apprentice of sorts." He explained, falling back on the cover story they'd prepared.

Eret nodded, "well, Drago's waiting for you in the tower, I'll lead you there and my men will look after your crew."

"It's just me and Astrid. I have the dragons and that's it, so I designed the Night Fury to be able to be manned by just one."

"But surly a ship this size would need a skeleton crew of at least 20!"

Hiccup shook his head, "Nope."

The dragon trapper gaped at the three-masted ship, "In all my days…"

Hiccup smiled, proud of his achievement, "I'll show her to you later, but for now, it probably wouldn't be best to keep Drago waiting." Just because he didn't like the man, didn't mean he wouldn't show off to him.

Eret nodded, "Yes, of course. Right this way."

Eret led the two young adults and the dragon through the fort's main gate and to the large tower. As they passed through the courtyard, they took a look at their surroundings. The place was highly defensible for the most part. The walls were tall and sturdy and had many ballista's that could be aimed at both the sky and sea. The tower offered a 360-degree view of the surrounding area from which a war effort could be managed. However, the place seemed a little to flammable for dragon trappers in Hiccup's opinion.

"I'm sorry, but your dragon isn't going to fit through the tower, you'll have to leave him outside." Eret apologised, "I swear on my life, that nothing will happen to him as long as he leaves the men alone."

Hiccup nodded, smiling inwardly at the though of these dragon trappers trying anything with Toothless. It wouldn't end well for them, but he decided to patronize them and told Toothless to stay out of trouble.

 **"Me stay out of trouble?! It's you I'm worried about!"**

Hiccup chuckled and followed Eret inside the fort.

The tower itself wasn't much different than the outside. It was more practical than anything, with a few dragon skulls lining the place here and there. There was an armoury on the first floor, sleeping quarters on the second, the third floor offered a mess hall with a storage room being on the forth. The fifth floor was where things started to get a bit more interesting. By the gold and silver lining the walls and the red carpet on the floor, this was obviously where the VIP's stayed, away from the hustle and bustle of the common trapper. Yet they continued on upwards to the 6th and final floor, the war room, where Drago was waiting.

He stood staring out the window with his back to them, his giant form, a silhouette against the light pouring in from outside. Eret, with his task complete, bowed and exited the room.

Drago spoke with a soft voice and without turning to the pair, "That's a nice the ship you got there." He complimented the young man. "You must have quite the crew to operate such a fine vessel."

"More like a lot of money and an overactive imagination. One man can operate her without too much difficulty."

"And yet, I wonder why a dragon rider would need such a ship."

Hiccup smiled, he'd been prepared for the question, "Why do you think it is that no one's found where I live all these years? Surly someone as famous as I am would have been discovered by now? Especially with all the people who've been searching for me. You, Viggo, the Romans… My home location is constantly changing, that way no one can ever anticipate where I am."

Astrid was surprised by the way Hiccup's silver tongue ran. If she didn't already know the truth, she'd be inclined to believe it. But she was a bit perplexed at the same time. Back before their spar, which she had won proudly by the way, he'd been trying to hide who he was, but had been unable to convince her fully. So why was he so much better at lying now? And how much had he lied to her in the past?

"Smart." Drago replied as he turned around. His appearance was intimidating to say the least. He was dressed in black dragon skin, which Hiccup suspected came from a Night Fury if the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's story was talking about this man. His face was heavily scared and black dreadlocks hung greasily from his head and beard. Much to both Hiccup's and Astrid's satisfaction, his eyes were a shade of dark green. He fit the description of the prophecy. "Still, I wonder why a man of your reputation, cunning and ambition chooses to stay hidden away in the shadows. Striking like a demon in the night and then disappearing during the day. The Vikings fear you. You should have them on their knees by now… Unless, you're not as powerful as you make the world believe."

Hiccup chose to remain silent. He couldn't let Drago know about the Lava Louts, the Berserkers or the Outcasts, but he also couldn't let the man think he was weak, so he let him continue.

"However, you have made yourself a nuisance. For instance, my efforts securing allies in the North were greatly hindered due to your intervention in the war between the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's and the Sangilak's **[1]**. The Sangilaks were some of my strongest supporters, and now their tribe doesn't even exist."

Astrid widened her eyes as she heard the news, she wasn't prepared to hear something like that. Hiccup was responsible for the destruction of an entire tribe! The thought appalled her.

"Then there was the Roman fleet. That was the night I was going to finally show my power to the world. A strong alliance would have been formed in the aftermath of the battle. A force would have arisen that would rival the rest of the world put together! But in less than a half hour, you managed to slaughter 300,000 people **[2]** , before I even had the chance to arrive. Those with me saw you as too much of a threat to consider joining me and the Alliance fell."

Astrid recoiled even more upon learning this, not that either of the two men noticed. 300,000 people killed in a half hour! She wasn't sure what to think of this. Yes, it had been war and yes, they'd been coming to lay waste to the Vikings, but surly, Hiccup of all people could have found a better way.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hiccup asked.

"Are you tired constantly hiding in the shadows? You keep the Vikings in fear of you, but your forced to keep an air of mystery about you in fear that the Vikings will rise up against you once and for all. I have plans for the archipelago and the rest of the world and the means to accomplish my goals. Join my ranks and I can give you the means show yourself in the daylight. I can give you the men you need and make you War Lord over the entire Barbaric Archipelago, bowing only to me and me alone. Not only will you be feared by many, but you will rule over them and bend them to your will. There will be none that can reject your wishes."

Hiccup paused and acted like he was contemplating such a decision. He had no doubt that Drago would kill him if he rejected, but he also hadn't come here to reject him.

"I've known of you for several years now, ever since Viggo first tried to find me." Hiccup began, "I knew you were a powerful person who would make things happen. Everything I've done from that point on was to prove myself to you in an effort to join your ranks." Hiccup replied as bowed on one knee in a symbol of respect and held out his sword. "I would consider it an honor to serve under your new empire and offer you my sword when you call upon it."

Astrid, still reeling from the revelations, had enough presence of mind to notice Hiccup bowing to Drago. She dutifully played her part as the apprentice and mimicked Hiccup's example.

Drago allowed a rare smile to grace his scarred face. With this young man bowing at his feet, the one stumbling block in his quest to rule the world, his dream would soon be realized. If the dragon rider could be trusted.

o~0~O~0~o

The meeting was finally over. She needed to get out of there and get some air. Her mind was reeling with the implications of what she had just learned. Hiccup had so much blood on his hands! And that was just with the two battles she knew he was a part of. What more had he done? She had suspected something was wrong with him, known that he had killed people, but to be responsible for so much death and to feel nothing for it? Her only consolation was that the people he had killed were those that wanted to wage war against the nations and subjugate them to their will.

She went and stood on the wall, allowing the cool sea breeze to wash over her face. She watched as Hiccup reunited with his dragon, who was happy to see him. They both seemed so care free and harmless from here, but both were downright deadly as she was learning.

"Quite an impressive sight I must say." A young man with black hair and a tattooed face interrupted her thoughts as he walked up and gestured to the dragon rider and his Night Fury. "In all my days of dragon trapping, I've never seen anything quite like that, a human riding on the back of a dragon. I never would have thought it was possible."

Astrid did her best to ignore him and turned back to looking out over the sea.

"Names Eret, son of Eret."

This caught her attention and she acknowledged the young man, "Wow, your father is a bit egocentric, isn't he?"

"Not really, I come from a long line of sons of Eret. It's a bit of a family tradition you could say."

Astrid laughed, "So you're a family of egocentrics then."

Eret laughed, "you got us there. So, how long have you been traveling with him? This is the first time I've learned of a female riding with him. How many of his battles have you been through?"

"I only met him a short time ago. I don't know a whole lot about him actually, just that he's a good dragon rider and an excellent teacher." She replied, playing the part of the apprentice.

"You don't say. Maybe I could get a few lessons from him myself."

"You seem to know a lot about him."

"Well sure, he's practically a legend around here."

"Maybe you can tell me what you know about him and I could give you a ride on my dragon in return." It would be a good opportunity to learn exactly who Hiccup had become from someone who wasn't fearful of the man.

Eret brightened at the prospect, "You got yourself a deal."

"Great, meet me at the Night Fury tonight after the sun goes down."

o~0~O~0~o

Darkness fell upon the fort, but that didn't keep Toklo from watching from her perch. She would wait until all were asleep, and then count the number of guards hanging around on night watch. But it wasn't the guards that caught her attention in that moment, but the dragon that left the deck of the Night Fury. The lack of light and the distance between them made her unable to identify if the dragon was a Night Fury or a Sand Wraith, but she narrowed her eyes when she saw two figures riding on it's back.

While she was focused on the dragon riders below, she failed to notice the one flying high above her. The masked rider spied the Sand Wraith below flying away from the fort with curiosity, then took off after them.

 **(A/N)**

 **Before people get mad at me, this is not going to be an Eret and Astrid ship fic. I will give my word on that.**

 **[1] I am claiming that the people that wear polar bear skins and use blow darts to take out the gang's dragons are the Sangilaks. Drago took out the Night Furies and most of the Tuuluuwaq'Atka tribe for them in order to secure an alliance.**

 **[2] I got some flack last time for having 300,000 people in one army. However, a Roman Quinquereme, the ship that I based the numbers off of, carried about 120 soldiers, but 300 rowers. The rowers would have been given basic military training but were not actually part of the army. So, going with those numbers, the army would have only been about 85,000 strong, while there would have been about 214,000 rowers (not exact numbers). Also, I'm playing around with history a lot already, so I don't really care about smudging things a bit.**

 **See you guys next time.**


	38. Chapter 38

**(A/N) Sorry guys, I wanted to get this out much sooner but then exams happened and now I'm working two jobs, plus I rewrote this chapter a few times because I wasn't liking the way it was going. Writing was kind of put on the back-burner for a little bit. On the same note, this is far from the first time something like this has happened and honestly, the whole updating ever week thing has put a lot of stress on me because I feel like I'm letting you down and sometimes I put too much time into this story when I need to do other things. As a result, I'm getting burnt out writing less and less. So, my solution is not to stop writing all together, but to pace myself a little more. As of right now, I am going to update when I have a chance, not on a specified day. It will give me a chance to write when I actually have time and not rush things, which will make for better quality chapters. I hope you guys don't mind.**

 **On another note, I'm no longer at college, which means my regular editors are no longer within reach. So, I'm currently looking for a Beta-reader. If anybody is interested, send me a PM and I'll get back to you.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Brenne: Lol, It will be interesting to see.**

 **Guest 1: It sounds like you and I are mostly on the same page when it comes to Astrid's character, although I would probably add jealousy to the list of emotions that she was experiencing when Hiccup surpassed her in Dragon Training. I'm not quite sure how you think that I'm making Astrid into the villain, because I'm not, far from it. Like you said, Astrid desires to protect her village and will do whatever it takes to do so. And while she isn't as cunning as Hiccup or Viggo, she is smart and tactical, which is one of the reasons why she works well with Hiccup in Canon.**

 **The reason why I included the A/N about Astrid and Eret is because I've seen other fanfics flame authors for no other reason than pairing the two of them together. You could call this fan catering in some ways, but though I do not flame other authors who have done this, this is not a pairing that I personally see working out for some reason. Why, I don't even know to be honest. Maybe it's just that I'm more of a fan of HTTYD 1 than HTTYD 2.**

 **As for Fishlegs, Again, I would also agree with you that he was acting like a blind sheep for most of his life before Dragon Training, though we also don't know much about their lives before the events of HTTYD. We have no idea what Fishlegs went through or why he decided to follow the others or even when. That's not excusing his character or myself even. I did that once and I've been kicking myself ever since. I'd like to think that Fishlegs learned the lesson that I did, to stick up for others.**

 **Surayo: Good, that is what I was hoping for.**

 **tefe203: Not my particular opinion, but you may get your wish, but then again, you may not. Though there hasn't been to much blood shed yet, no character is safe in this story.**

 **Master of Energy: Thank you. Astrid will stay good, you don't have to worry about that, but I can't reveal her fate as of this time. Take that as you will.**

 **Mudsbreath: Thank you.**

 **Guest 2: He killed her father, but I haven't addressed the fate of her mother yet. Though It is not spoiling anything to say that she died during the first winter Astrid was gone.**

 **Guest 3: Me neither.**

 **Guest 4: At this point I'm actually lost as to where the whole Fishlegs thing came into play because it's been so long and I can't remember what I said about him or even if I did say anything about him. I did some looking and can't find anything if I did, so for now I'm going to just say I agree with you until I can find what I said, then I'll go from there. Though arguably, neither Astrid or Fishlegs is going to be a villain in this fanfic.**

 **ChrisToothless: Thank you, but Astrid needs to ride a dragon in this, which is why she does.**

 **Guest 5: Was planning on it, just had to edit this chapter when you sent the review.**

 **Chapter 38**

The moon shone bright and lit up the clouds in a sliver glow, giving the two people on the back of a dragon plenty of light by which to see in the crisp night air.

Astrid kept the flight calm, allowing Eret to get a feel of the sky. She flew them past the fort's tower, which was now dark save for a few torches lit by the watchman. Eret stared in awe as he caught a glimpse of his home from an angle he'd never seen before. The fort looked so small from up here.

With another flap of his wings, Quicksand brought the two higher and higher, out of view of the fort and above the clouds. Soon the ground seemed like nothing but a far off dream, yet no matter how high they rose above the world, the stars never seemed to get any closer.

"Wow. I never dreamed of anything like this…" Eret finally broke the silence, "This is amazing."

"I know what you mean. This never gets old."

"Does it just keep on going?" He asked, referencing to the seemingly never-ending void above them.

"As far as I know. Hiccup would probably be able to tell you better."

Eret nodded, "This really is something else."

Astrid was enjoying being able to show someone else this world which few ever had the pleasure of witnessing, but there was another reason why she had brought him up here, "So… what do you know about Hiccup? Who is he to you?"

Eret looked like he was contemplating how he was going to answer Astrid's question. There was so much to explain…

A large mass of scales appeared in front of them, blocking their path and sending a massive gust of wind straight towards them. Quicksand shrieked in surprise and did his best to withstand the hurricane buffeting them while Astrid and Eret were just doing their best to hold on. The rushing air never relented and Astrid peeked over Quicksand's head in order to figure out what exactly was going on.

Another dragon was staring them down, it was a large one too. She wasn't sure what they had done to anger it, but she and Quicksand had faced other dragons many times before and both of them knew what they would do.

"Hold on!" Astrid yelled to Eret.

"What?"

Quicksand folded his wings before the newcomer could try anything and the three of them began plummeting towards the ocean below. Eret screamed and desperately clutched at Astrid's waist in order to not fall off.

The other dragon screeched, announcing to the trio that it too had taken the plunge and was hot on their tale.

"What type of dragon is it? Can you tell?" Astrid asked her passenger.

Eret took a glance back at their pursuer and found that he did know the species, even with just a quick glance. Only one type of dragon had four wings.

"Stormcutter." Eret answered, "Nearly impossible to knock it out of the air and more maneuverable than any other dragon, but we should be able to outrun it once we level off."

Astrid nodded and pulled Quicksand out of the dive just over the water's surface, leaving a small wake behind them. Sure enough, the Stormcutter pulled out of the dive and quickly lost all of it's momentum. Soon, it was almost out of sight.

Astrid breathed as sigh of relief, the Stormcutter would soon realize it would be unable to attack its' quarry and give up. With the distraction out of the way, maybe she could get some answers out of Eret. "Now, as you were going to say before we were interpted-"

A Thunderdrum jumped out of the water right in front of them and Astrid was forced to barrel role out of the way. She would have passed it off as a fluke, but then a second made a jump at them. Fortunately, the dragons were slow and cumbersome, making it easy for the trio to dodge the Thunderdrums, but more and more began to follow suit, slowing their progress and forcing them to rise high above the waves.

The Stormcutter gained some ground in the process, but this time, it was not alone. Raincutters, Hobblegrunts, Thunderclaws, Deadly Nadders and more were on their tail. A Sand Wraith was fast, almost as fast as a Night Fury even. The book of dragons gave them a speed rating of 17. In a one verse one race, they'd be able to beat anyone of those dragons easily, but this had turned into a race of endurance now, and they had no hope of outlasting all of them. They needed to do something fast if they were going to get out of this.

A whistling sound caught their attention and all three turned their heads up towards the source. It was too late to do anything however as a Windstriker slammed into them from above, plucking Eret from the saddle and throwing Astrid and Quicksand off balance. By the time they recovered, Eret was gone and they were surrounded on all sides by dragons of varying species. Hovering in front of them was the Stormcutter.

She didn't know what was going on, but one thing she did know was she wasn't going down without a fight and so, she drew her axe.

A Monstrous Nightmare was the first to approach and it was driven off with a blast to the chest from Quicksand. At the same time, a Hobblegrunt approached from below when the pair was distracted and rammed them as Astrid swung her axe at a passing Raincutter, missing only by a few inches despite the Hobblegrunt's attack.

A gust of wind from the Stormcutter's wings sent the two further off balance, allowing a Deadly Nadder to swoop in and grab Astrid off the Sand Wraith's back. Quicksand shrieked at the loss of his rider and quickly took off after the Nadder, ignoring the attempts of the other dragons to herd him away from the young girl.

"Quicksand!" Astrid yelled in terror of being separated from the Sand Wraith. She attempted to swing the flat of her axe at the Nadder's underside to force it to let her go, but a sharp jolt from the dragon forced her to drop it. She watched in horror as her mother's axe was lost to the depths of the sea. "NO!"

The Stormcutter flew by her, examining the girl suspended in the Nadder's claws. It was only then that Astrid caught sight of the masked figure dressed in intimidating leather armour and grasping a strange staff on the dragon's back. She gasped at the sight. She thought Hiccup and herself were the only two dragon riders, but here was a third. Exactly how many were there?

Quicksand was still struggling to get to his rider, catching the attention of the masked dragon rider, who looked on in curiosity. There had been many people in the past who had tried to subjugate dragons to their will. There was the Grimborn brothers for instance. They'd trained a few Catastrophic Quakens to respond to the vibrations in a hammer, even after the two of them had been set free. A solution to that particular problem hadn't been figured out as of yet. Then there was the one who they called Krogan who had managed to bend an entire flock of Singetails to his will and rode them in a similar manner to this young woman. Fortunately, both the Grimborn brothers and Krogan had seemingly vanished into thin air for some strange reason.

This woman could be his replacement. She had come from the dragon trapper fort and carried with her the son of their leader after all. It would be a good place to start building the fliers 2.0, but then why would her dragon be acting the way it was. It was almost like it pained the Sand Wraith to be away from his rider. The situation was troubling and would have to be handled carefully, but for now, the Sand Wraith would have to be dealt with before it hurt itself or another.

So, with practised grace, the rider hopped of the Stormcutter's back and onto the Sand Wraith's. The dragon immediately rejected the idea of an added weight on his back that wasn't his rider and attempted to throw it off, but the rider hadn't lived with dragons for 19 years without learning a thing or two, including how to pacify a furious Sand Wraith. The rider shook her staff, which emitted a strange humming sensation, next to the dragon's head and rested her hand, which had been dipped in crushed sagefruit, near the dragon's nose. The effect was almost immediate and the Sand Wraith entered an almost trance like state, flying straight as an arrow unless prompted to turn by the rider.

With the rider's attention focused on her dragon, Astrid took the opportunity to try and pacify the Nadder carrying her. She cooed softly at it while attempting to free one of her arms. It took a while as the Nadder was still warry from when the young Viking had taken a swing at her with the axe that had fallen to the sea, but eventually Astrid managed to win the Nadder over after apologising profusely for her actions (which she ensured the dragon was purely only in self-defence) and giving her a good scratch on the back. Only then was she permitted to climb on.

An hour had passed by that time and they were far from the Eret's fort. Instead of the familiar forests they had left behind, snow pelted the land and a mountain of spiked ice rose from ground. The dragons, including the masked rider and Quicksand, all made for an opening in the mountain's face. Astrid, still riding the Nadder, followed without hesitation. Whoever this masked rider was, they had her dragon and she wasn't leaving without him.

She was surprised at how open the area immediately inside the cave was. In hindsight, she may have been a bit hasty because about 30 dragons, along with the masked rider, watched her enter. Gods, she didn't have Quicksand as back-up and she didn't even have her axe anymore. She had no clue as to where Eret had gotten off too.

Regardless of the clear disadvantage she was at, she was already here and there was no backing out now. So, she landed, dismounted and turned to face the masked rider.

They both stared at one another for what seemed like hours but was actually probably only a few minutes. The masked rider stared on in curiosity, studying the young woman who was defiant in the face of insurmountable odds. The fact that she'd rode the Nadder in after only being with it for a bit over an hour spoke volumes of her knowledge of dragons, yet she had come from the fort of Eret, who worked for Drago. It was a troubling concept. If Drago had actually learned how to create bonds with dragons, the whole world would be in even greater peril than it already was. Nothing would stand against him.

Meanwhile, Astrid was studying her opponent, looking for strengths and weaknesses, taking into account the location and species of each and every dragon, calculating the quickest path to Quicksand and establishing the location of the nearest escape route. When she finally did make her move, she would need to be fast and accurate, land a few choice blows to the masked rider and get out. Even then, she wasn't sure she and Quicksand would be able to escape.

The rider finally had enough and sent a quick gesture to a few nearby dragons who began to stalk towards the young woman with low growls. It was time to see what this young woman was capable of. The effect was immediate as the Nadder that the girl had flown in on curled protectively her and bristled her tail spikes, a clear warning to the other dragons to not harm her. The advancing dragons backed off, not wanting to hurt one of their fellow flock.

Astrid, emboldened by the Nadder's protectiveness, decided to end this. She began walking towards the masked rider, intent on getting her dragon back. She cared for little else in this point.

 **THWACK!**

She paused as the rider's staff hit the stone floor hard. A dragon flew into the cavern and threw something right next to her. It was only when she spotted Eret roll to his feet that she recognized the dragon as the Windstalker from earlier.

The man glanced around the room, saw all the dragons, Astrid and the masked rider, and drew two short swords. "Don't worry Astrid, I'm the greatest dragon trapper alive. I'll get us out of this." He boasted, even as warning growls arose from all sides.

Astrid shook her head angerly and punched him straight in the jaw, knocking him out cold.

"You amateur!" Astrid yelled as she caught the man's swords before they hit the ground. She knew it would do no good to yell at the unconscious man, but she continued anyways, "That's no way to approach a dragon. I figured you would have realized that by the way Hiccup and I handle them!"

"Hiccup?!" The masked rider interrupted, finally speaking for the first time.

Astrid whirled around, "Yes! Hiccup the Horrendous! You know him! The man whose best friend is a Night Fury. I ride with him. Thank you very much for kidnapping me and my dragon."

The rider removed the mask, revealing the face of an older woman with dark hair and green eyes, "Hiccup…" She gasped, "How is he? What's he like? What has he been up to?" she asked, ignoring Astrid's annoyed tone.

"THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW!" She yelled, "I swear, that man has so many secrets and myths about him that I don't even know what to believe anymore." She would have continued her tirade, but at that moment, Quicksand woke up from his trance and saw his rider. Next thing she knew, she was being smothered by over 1000 pounds of dragon. She felt her anger fade away as the Sand Wraith nuzzled her and covered her in saliva, forcing a laugh from her lips.

The older rider couldn't help but chuckle at the show before. This young woman was obviously not forcing the Sand Wraith to do anything he didn't want to, yet she was still a bit of a conundrum. Why would a woman who was obviously so good with dragons see fit to hang around with the likes of Drago's and his men and what relationship did she have with Hiccup?

"Oh, you got to be kiddin' me." A groggy voice spoke up. Both woman turned to see Eret rubbing his jaw, "Your working together!" he accused.

Astrid stopped to think how she would approach this. She needed answers from Eret, but she doubted the man would be willing to give any to her now. She would have to force him to talk, and this gave her the perfect opportunity. The older woman seemed to be warming up to her now that she knew she was working with Hiccup and didn't seem to be willing to keep her and Quicksand apart anymore. Plus, Eret was in a room full of dragons and two dragon riders and he was completely defenceless without his short swords.

Astrid extracted herself from underneath the Sand Wraith and turned to confront the young dragon trapper. She felt emboldened by the fact that she had both Quicksand and the Nadder backing her up. "You better believe it. If you want to leave this place alive, your going to tell me _everything_."

 **(A/N) Oh boy, Astrid is fed up and on the warpath… This should be interesting.**


	39. Chapter 39

**(A/N) Hey everybody, I'm back and quicker than normal! Yay! Hopefully this will keep up.**

 **So, I came to a decision the other day, and I think I'm going to actually divide this story up into two books. This will allow me to actually give some quality to the ending of this book and not rush things as there is too much I want to do still. If I keep going like I have been this story will end up somewhere between 80 and 100 chapters long and I don't think anyone wants that.**

 **I'm think Disturbed reflections will end in about another 20 chapters or so with Hiccup showing up at Berk and everything that happens there, leaving book two to pick up the pieces.**

 **That being said, I need a bunch of new characters for book two, preferably of the younger age group anywhere between the ages of 0 and 15. (Don't worry, most of our beloved cast will still be present) If you guys want to pitch your ideas for new characters, go ahead and I'll take them into consideration. I'm looking for names, age, and basic personalities.**

 **On another note, it seems the guest reviewer that I have been having some fun with over the last year or so has been leaving some rather interesting reviews on more stories than just mine. I personally enjoy debating with the guest reviewer, but not everybody does. In fact, it seems this guest reviewer has actually driven a few authors from all together. Not cool. FanFiction is a place for people to have fun, challenge themselves and explore new angles. There's a reason why it's called fan fiction, it's the fan's personal take on the matter, their own little twist and not everybody will share the same views as you. In fact, the world would be a bit boring if that were the case. Just because a story doesn't share the same views as you, doesn't mean you have the right to make the story, the author's personal opinion, conform to your worldview. That just means you have the right not to read and support it.**

 **In any case, several authors that have been forced to deal with this guest have gotten together in a group called the "Tales of Lokansenna" in order to support each other and hopefully take a stand against this guest. There's a FanFiction community and a Tumbler page. I have the honour of announcing that Disturbed Reflections is now a part of this community and I give my full support to my fellow authors who have written amazing stories and yet have been hassled by this guest. Keep up the good writing guys and don't let this guest get you down.**

 **BTW Guest, and you know who you are, please keep writing reviews for this story. I honestly enjoy conversing with you… plus, I want to win at Guest Reviewer Bingo if we can get some bingo cards set up :D Just maybe try to be respectful of other people's opinions' in the future. Not everybody can be you.**

 **Guest Reviews:** **there's a lot of actual guests this time around for some reason. I wonder what that's all about?**

 **Brenne: You'll just have to wait and find out :D**

 **Guest 1: I'm not shipping Astrid and Eret, and I'm not writing her OOC. I'm not making her into a villain at all and fail to see how you can say I am. As for the rest of your tirade, it seems like you and I are on the agreement for the most part, except where you say it would be likely for Astrid to develop a relationship with Eret. He's too much of an older, slightly more mature version of Snotlout if you ask me and we all know how Astrid feels about Snotlout.**

 **Surayo: Lol and good.**

 **tefe203: Interesting point of view.**

 **Master of Energy: Thank you. And Astrid will stay good.**

 **Mudsbreath: Thank you.**

 **Guest 2: He killed her father, unknowingly. I never actually revealed the fate of Astrid mother yet, I was planning on doing so later. The last I mentioned her she was sick. I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything to say that she never recovered.**

 **Guest 3: Agreed.**

 **LameJokeGuy: Speaking as a guy who's been heavily bullied in the past, once you get to know them a little bit more, they can actually be really good people to hang around with if their willing or forced to change.**

 **Guest 4: I think I'm just going to stay out of this argument from now on. It's honestly not too important and I've said my views already.**

 **ChrisToothless: Thanks. You know, I'm really surprised at the number of people that don't like Astrid in this fic.**

 **Guest 5: I AMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

 **Guest 6: Yep, still staying out of this argument.**

 **Guest 7 & 8: Thank you.**

 **Spirit Of The Black Wolf: Well I do enjoy tragedies in literature, (absolutely loved the ending of infinity war as an example), so that's a bit of a warning, although I do like happy endings as well. There's really no telling what can happen in my stories.**

 **PlaidOtaku: Going to continue off of my last answer as well as answer you here - And that's just the way I like it.**

 **Raina Kai: Thank you, I can't wait to write some more.**

 **Chapter 39**

Normally the sight of a young shieldmaiden like the one before him would be a pleasant surprise. He could remember many times when a young woman like this had batted her playful eyelashes a him when he docked his ship into port after a long haul at sea and the pleasant evening that usually followed. Yet it was only now that he realized why Viking women were so feared. When one of them got mad, it was downright terrifying. Astrid was no exception, she was at the end of her ropes and had two snarling dragons to back her up.

She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

"What do you want to know?" Eret asked while trying to hide his fear of the young woman in front of him. By the victorious smirk on her face, he wasn't sure he had succeeded.

"I want to know about everything. Hiccup, Drago, what they like to do, where they like to do it, they people who work for them. If tramples a rose bush, I want to know about it. I'm tired of not knowing what threats lie out there, foreign, domestic or otherwise." Astrid told him with a cold edge to her voice.

"Well I wont talk, and there's no way that you can make me."

"Quicksand?" Astrid called. The dragon in question turned his head towards her, "Do you think you can keep him from touching the ground?"

Quicksand's eyes lit up in glee as he turned back to the dragon trapper.

"What?" Eret asked in confusion moments before the Sand Wraith swung his spiked tail at him. Eret jumped and sighed in relief as he realized the dragon hadn't impaled him. Then he realized the dragon hadn't been aiming at him, but the cloth of his shirt and had skewered it straight through. "Whaaaa!" He wailed as the dragon whipped his tail in the air, dragging the dragon trapper with it and sending him flying across the cavern.

Eret braced himself for impact with the ground, but he never hit it. Instead he found himself landing hard on the Sand Wraith's head. There was no moment of recovery however as Quicksand threw him in the air again, only to be caught this time by the dragon's tail, which threw him in the air again.

The Nadder quickly caught onto the game of never let the human hit the ground and joined in, followed by many other dragons in the room. A Hobblegrunt, a couple Raincutters, a few Thunderclaws and even the Windstalker that had grabbed Eret before all joined in on the fun.

The other two humans in the room just watched on silent amusement as the dragon trapper was passed in between the dragons like a ball.

"PUT… OW! ME… AHHH! DOWN… AHHGG!" Eret cried.

Astrid was watching the fun with a smile on her face when the older dragon rider walked over and stood beside her, along with the Stormcutter that she rode. The large dragon seemed content enough to watch what was going on, but not join in.

"Well ya certainty know yer away around dragons lass." The woman spoke.

"Well, for the last three years its just been me and him against the world." Astrid admitted while gesturing to the carefree dragon who was eagerly hoping between the other dragons in a desperate attempt to keep the human from falling.

The woman nodded, "And now yer riding with Hiccup?"

"You know him?"

"In a way." The woman admitted, "It's been so long though. I doubt he even remembers me."

Astrid nodded, "So who are you and why did you kidnap us."

"Drago's men call me the dragon thief because I free so many of their dragons. I apologize for the misunderstandin', I thought you were another of Drago's Flyer programs, you did come from the fort of one of his known associates after all."

"Flyers?" Astrid asked.

"A man named Krogan subjugated a flock of Singetails to his will by holding their eggs hostage. He and his men rode them against their will. The flyer's disappeared recently however. I assumed they ticked Drago off and you were their replacement."

"Maybe I was supposed to be. I don't really know what Hiccup's plan was."

"What is he like?"

"I don't really know any more. I knew him before he left Berk. Back then he was always… different. He wasn't strong like the others. Instead he was smart and witty, the two things Viking's have no use for. He used his creativity to try and invent machines to make the people's lives easier and hopefully be seen in a better light. The problem was, his machines usually backfired and caused more problems for the village. Then he found Toothless-"

"Toothless?" The woman questioned.

"His Night Fury."

"He rides a Night Fury!"

"Wow, you really don't get out much do you?"

The woman turned a bit sheepish, "It's been 19 years since I've lived among me own kind."

"Look at us, a couple of crazy dragon ladies."

Valka laughed, "One of us crazier than the other most likely."

Astrid smiled, "Maybe, maybe not. Sounds like there's a lot we need to discuss."

"Ouch." Both woman winced as one of the dragons missed and Eret hit the stone floor. No sooner had he recovered however when a Monstrous Nightmare grabbed him by the back of the shirt and threw him back in the air.

"So, how do you know of Hiccup then?" Astrid asked.

"It's been so long since I've been back… but a mother never forgets her child."

Astrid turned in shock… "You're Valka?!"

The woman nodded.

"But you got eaten by a dragon. How?"

"Cloudjumper was the one who dragged me off. He never meant to hurt me, he just figured I'd be better off in the company of dragons than Vikin's."

Astrid stood back and appraised the Woman and Dragon pair, "Well I guess that explains a lot."

"Alright FINE!" Eret screamed, "I'LL TALK!"

"Quicksand, Fetch!" Astrid yelled out over the ruckus caused by the dragons. The Sand Wraith immediately jumped up and snagged Eret out of the air with his mouth, though he was careful not to break the skin. The dragon then brought him over and deposited the man in front of the two dragon riders. The man had a few cuts and bruises, but other than that, he was fine. The dragons appeared to have been careful with their new toy.

"What…" Eret gasped, "do you want to know."

"Hiccup." Both woman said at once.

Astrid cleared her throat, "what do you know about him?"

"He came out of nowhere. There were rumors of a dragon rider in the barbaric archipelago, but no one paid him much mind. At first, Drago thought he might make a good ally and kept an eye on him. Then, next thing you know, an entire Roman invasion force was wiped out and Hiccup claimed responsibility. Viggo would even go so far as to say he burned Rome to the ground as well not long after.

"Wait a minute, who's Viggo?" Astrid asked.

"One of the Grimborn Brothers." Valka answered for Eret, "An extremely ruthless and cunning dragon trapper that I have had the pleasure of going up against with little success. He comes off a bit cold and distant, but he knows his allies and opponents better than they do themselves and uses it to his advantage."

"Does he have brown hair, a goatee and three scars running along the side of his neck?"

"Yes, he does. You know him?" Valka asked.

"He dumped me and my dragon into the sea and threatened to sell us both. The only reason we escaped was because Hiccup saved us."

Eret nodded, "Sounds like him. You'd have to speak with him for more information about Rome, but good luck finding him now."

"Where is he?" Valka pressed.

"I don't know. He went into hiding three or four weeks ago."

"Any idea why?"

"He was in possession of an artifact called the dragon eye, a device chalked full of dragon related knowledge. A man named Johann knew about it and wanted to use it as a means of finding a King of Dragons."

Valka gasped, "A Bewilderbeast?"

Astrid had no idea what a Bewilderbeast was, nor did she care. Something else about what the dragon trapper had said caught her attention, "Wait, Johann? As in trader Johann?"

Eret nodded, "He's a great actor who knows how to play the long game to get what he wants. He's been using the whole trader bit as a way to get in and out of everywhere without anyone paying to much attention to him. He's actually a very deadly assassin who had dreams of taking over Drago's whole operation. Viggo agreed to help him. He was probably planning on starting a war between Johann and Drago and get rich off of war profiteering. The problem however was Drago found out and sent a man named Krogan to keep an eye on things and secure a second King of Dragons for his army **[1]**."

Valka narrowed her eyes, but nodded for the man to continue.

"They were close to getting the King of Dragons and entered its cave. However, it would seem that both Krogan and Johann felt that the others were unneeded at that point and attempted to kill each other and make off with the Dragon eye. The last I heard, Johann and Krogan were dead and the Grimborn brothers and their entire organization had disappeared underground."

"As interesting as this all is, I think we've strayed from the original topic." Astrid pointed out, "You had said that Hiccup destroyed an entire Roman Armada and possibly Rome itself. Do you know what his next move is? Why would he be interested in Drago?"

"How should I know?" Eret answered, "You're the one riding with him."

"Only for the last three weeks and he won't let me in on what he's actually planning. Its like he wants to let me in but is keeping me at an arm's length just in case."

"All I know is he's been much more of a fixture in the Barbaric Archipelago ever since the whole Rome fiasco. The Vikings are looking to him as some kind of saviour or something like that. I don't know what he plans on doing with Drago, if anything, but I do know that Drago is only allowing Hiccup into his organization until he finds out where he's hiding his Alpha. Before Rome, he could have been an ally, now, he's threat that needs to be removed, but not until Drago is sure he can absorb Hiccup's forces into his own. That's all I know… now let me go."

"Never take a toy away from a dragon. Don't you know anything?" Astrid answered as she nodded for Quicksand to take care of him. The dragon eagerly scooped the young dragon trapper up in his jaws and carried him away.

"Ahh! What are you doing you stupid dragon!" Eret yelled, "I hope this washes out!"

Astrid grimaced and turned to Valka, "It doesn't."

Valka laughed.

Turning serious, Astrid began speaking, "I sure hope Hiccup knows what he's getting into back at Eret's Fort. If Drago finds out Hiccup doesn't have an Alpha, he'll will kill him himself."

"Wait… Drago's there?" Valka asked.

"Ya, why else do you think Hiccup would go there?"

Valka turned away and began pacing back and forth quickly, "Drago… right there… Never happened… Never again…" She spoke rapidly in her own little tirade so that Astrid could only understand half of what she was saying.

"Valka, slow down, what are you talking about?"

The older woman turned and stared Astrid down, "You're sure Drago's there?"

"Yes. I saw him with my own eyes."

"There's never been a chance like this before. Up until now he's stayed safe right in the middle of his armada… practically untouchable. Up until now I've always been reacting to him and on the defensive. This might be me one and only chance to strike at him."

"Are you serious?" Astrid asked, "You'd be going up against Hiccup too. They have an alliance of some sort."

"You said he's a friend of dragons right?"

"Well… yes."

"Then he'll know which side to take when the fighting starts. I leave immediately to assault Eret's fort. Astrid, are you with me?"

 **(A/N)**

 **[1] ***SPOILER ALERT*** I know in the ending episode of Race to the Edge, Drago is seen saying "I'll find myself another king of dragons" after Krogan fails to obtain the Bewilderbeast egg, suggesting that Drago acquired his Bewilderbeast after the events of Race to the Edge. However, something that doesn't jive with me is that Race to the Edge supposedly ends a year before the events of HTTYD 2 or something like that and Drago supposedly raised his Bewilderbeast from an egg. Call me crazy, but I don't see a baby dragon going from the size of that egg to the size of a mountain in less than a year. (Those would be some serious growing pains btw) So, my head canon is that Drago already had his Bewilderbeast during the events of Race to the Edge, but wanted a second one to make his army stronger or possibly bread into an army of Bewilderbeasts.**


	40. Chapter 40

**(A/N) And I'm back. Sorry, I would have had this finished sooner, but the pastor at my church is away on vacation and I took his place, so I was more concerned with writing a sermon than a fanfiction. Anyways, it's here now, so I hope you enjoy it.**

 **On another note, if everything continues as it has been, we stand to reach 300 favourites and350 followers by the next time I pot a chapter! You guys are amazing and I can't thank you enough for making this story as popular as it is! I would have never have made it this far without your guy's support. Your reviews, follows and favourites make my day and make writing this so much more fun. So thank you everybody!**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Surayo: Thank you. I hope Valka's role in this story will be a little more pivotal than it was in the movie.**

 **TheWhisperingWarrior: Something along those lines. And the only theory that I can come up with for the egg is she has two nests, one that she just started and doesn't really have much to it yet, which is why it never appeared in the movie. Not sure if that is better than your theory of Valka just returning the egg to the mother, but it's all I got.**

 **Angryhenry: ok… not sure how you think that but whatever.**

 **K. R. H: lol. Thank you and I'll try and make it "something way cooler!"**

 **OneInADramillion: Yep and thank you.**

 **Samateus-Taal: Thank you. I've been trying.**

 **the-darker-side-of-things: Lol, sorry about the headache. I'm glad your enjoying the story though. I hope I can deliver.**

 **Chapter 40**

Such a marvelous little invention. A smooth sheet of a clear substance called glass with a silver reflective backing. So simple, but nothing like this could ever have come from the Vikings. They were too focused on how best to take down 5000-pound fire breathing lizard to ever care about one's own reflection.

It was like gazing into a lake in the early morning when the water was still as smooth as could be, yet the details were so much clearer than that. The auburn hair and the forest green eyes. He could distinguish each and every freckle on his cheeks and study the small patches of stubble that were appearing around the edges of his face. He could even see the small scar on his chin from the day his mother had disappeared from his life for good.

What Hiccup saw before him was a young man with dreams, vision, goals and the determination to see them through. Everything was going to plan and for the first time since he left, his dreams actually seemed like they were within reach. By the end of the year he would have a massive army at his disposal, the likes of which the world had never before seen. He'd march against Berk first and bring it to it's knees and from there, he would grow his new empire.

The man looking back at him in the mirror would have it all, unlike the child who had been scorned and looked down upon for all those years. He could almost see that child in his reflection. He had the same nose, same grin and same eyes. But oh, how he'd changed since those days. The child had only wanted to prove himself to his father and make him proud. Hiccup felt a little pain knowing that he'd never have the chance now. He'd burned too many bridges for that.

Although, it might not be too difficult. Drago still wanted to take over the world, including Berk. Alvin still hated it with a passion and wanted to see it destroyed. Then there was Dagur, who would leap at any chance to use his armada in an attempt to become great and powerful. And here he was playing the puppeteer with all three of them. Would delivering them into the hands of Berk be enough to make Stoick the Vast proud of Hiccup the Horrendous? Would the village even accept him if he did?

"No!" He berated himself.

They didn't deserve him. The image of the young child in his mind distorted itself back into the man he'd been staring at in the mirror. The man had been working all these years to see the high and mighty Berk brought low. He wouldn't turn back now, not when he was so close. Besides, he had new friends and family now. There was Toothless, who was brother to him in all but blood. Then there was Toklo and the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's, of whom he had actually earned his place in the midst of. They accepted him for who he was, not who they thought he should be, and for that he'd be eternally grateful.

A knock at the door drew his attention and he called for whomever it was to enter. He smiled when he saw Astrid walk through the door, though there were dark circles under her eyes and a few small strands of her hair were sticking out in all sorts of half hazard angles.

"Wow, Astrid, what happened to you? You look worse than a Hotburple after a thunderstorm."

Astrid raised an eyebrow in in annoyance.

"N-not that there's anything wrong with that." He said as he nervously scratched at the back of his head.

Astrid chose to ignore him, they had more important things that needed to be talked about than how she looked, "Hiccup, we need to talk."

Instantly he turned serious, though his speech seemed anything but, "Relax Astrid, enjoy the day. I think I saw some Thunderdrums while I was out flying yesterday, we should go check them out and see if they're any different from the ones around the archipelago."

Astrid nodded, recognizing the code for eavesdroppers and turned to head back to her dragon, "Sure, it would be good to get some fresh air."

o~0~O~0~o

"So, what's so pressing?" Hiccup asked.

"We don't have much time, but I was flying last night and came across another dragon rider."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Another one? Who?"

Astrid hesitated, she wasn't sure what to say. How could you say something so Ludicrous? There was the Viking way she guessed. Be blunt and get it all over with at once. "Valka Haddock."

Hiccup didn't react.

"Well?" She pressed.

"Valka Haddock…" He said, "My Mother… My mother was eaten by a dragon, remember?"

"Well, what can I say? It's what she told me. She was pretty convincing to."

"My mother is dead Astrid. There's no bringing her back. Whoever this woman is, she's probably just an imposter looking to get in my good graces. Maybe she wants to exploit me somehow, a con-artist or something like that. She could even be a hit woman looking to get close to me for all we know, but I'm confident when I say she is not my mother."

"But Hiccup, you haven't even met this woman! What if she is!"

"She is not my mother!" Hiccup seethed.

Astrid was taken back by his tone. She never knew he could feel that way about anybody, much less a person he'd never met. She could have argued further, but they were running out of time, "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, but she'll be at Eret's Fort in less than 10 minutes and she's coming with an army to take out Drago. I know we were going to infiltrate his organization, but this calls for a change in plans. We have the element of surprise and with the type of fire power she's bringing, it will be over quick. We'll be able to take him out before he ever becomes a threat to Berk."

Hiccup was silent, thinking about what to do. This could ruin everything. Years of work, down the drain all because of this one dragon rider and his need to include Astrid in his work. He couldn't let Drago die, not yet, but that would mean attacking the dragon rider. The problem was, attacking the dragon rider would mean he was letting an easy chance to kill Drago go by, and that's all Astrid wanted. She was desperately trying to protect her village. Attacking the new rider, whoever she was, would turn Astrid against him. But if that's what it took… Could he take her out?

Wait…

There may yet be a way out of this.

With Astrid in her sleep deprived state, this might actually work in his favour.

"We can't." he told her firmly.

"What! Hiccup why?" Astrid screamed, "We'll never have a better chance."

"Say we take out Drago, then what? His army is still out there. Number two sees the number one position empty and decides to take it and finish what Drago started. Berk still falls and we no longer have an in to the army."

"Why do you need an army Hiccup? With Drago gone, there will be complete and utter confusion. They'll be vulnerable. Why can't we just break it up and destroy it?"

"Drago's army isn't the only threat. Rome is coming again to lay waste to the Vikings. Here's the ironic part, if we had the type of power that Drago's army will provide, we could protect the entire archipelago with the very army that was raised to destroy it."

War horns sounded in the distance and the two riders and their dragons turned to the source. A swarm of dragons was enveloping Eret's Fortress.

"Time to think is up." Hiccup pointed out as he took out his helmet and fitted it to his face, "It's your choice."

Astrid was torn. Could Valka stand up against the might of Rome? She doubted it. She could barely stand up against Drago, and he didn't have an entire empire backing him up. But protecting the one destined to destroy your village? Could she do it and keep a straight face?

She trusted Hiccup, but was this really the right course of action?

o~0~O~0~0

For the first time in many years, Drago felt fear. He'd underestimated that boy. Never had he thought the lad would betray him so soon. He was supposed to be working alone and poorly organized. It would explain why Hiccup had yet to actually make a move against the archipelago and bring it under his control. That was why he agreed to step out of the protection of his armada for the first time in many years. And yet, dragons were everywhere, burning every single ship in the harbour and carrying off a large number of the few men who manned the base.

Speaking of which, one of them was running toward him. It appeared to be Eret Sr. and he had a look of pure panic on his face.

"Drago! Sir! The dragons are everywhere. They've overridden our ballistae and are trying to tear into the armory as we speak. My men are fighting with sword and shield, but it's not enough!"

"Well then do better!" Drago growled.

"Sir, the battle is lost! We should retreat now and come back later."

"THERE WILL BE NO RETREAT! WE EITHER LIVE THROUGH THIS, OR WE DIE! Or are my men not good enough to handle this?"

"NO ONE CAN HANDLE THIS!" Eret yelled, "We simply don't have enough- ACKKKK!"

Eret gripped the shaft of Drago's bullhook as the tip plunged deep into his chest cavity.

"I have no use for failures. Maybe your son will do better than you. For his sake, he better." Drago told the man as he died.

A gust of air caught Drago's attention and he turned to see a Sand Wraith standing behind him. Before he could yank his bullhook from the dead man's chest, the girl riding the beast had already dismounted and was advancing towards him.

"Drago, sir! There are many dragons of different species in the air, but only the heavy hitters are attacking. The small agile dragons are keeping their distance and distracting your men. I'd advise ignoring them and going after the larger ones. The Harbour is lost, the walls are useless and the tower is about to go up in flames. There's nothing here worth protecting anymore. Is there a defensible place nearby where we can try and hold them off until a counter attack can be made? Preferably a place large enough for us to fit in, but small enough to restrict a dragon's movement?"

Wait, she was giving him helpful information? Drago was taken back at this, why would she help them if she and Hiccup had brought the attack… unless they were just as surprised as he was.

"There is one such place. There's a ravine not too far from here that should do the trick."

"Good." Astrid said, "Go, lead your men there. Me and Hiccup will buy you some time."

Drago nodded and turned to leave, grabbing his bullhook out of Eret's body as he did so. That's when Astrid caught sight of the dead man and she froze. Her disdain for the man only grew stronger as she learned he could kill his own man with no guilt whatsoever, in the middle of a battle no less.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Drago was already gone, gathering his men up to lead them to the ravine. She had a job to do, she could dwell on this later.

She turned her attention to the on-going battle, searching for Hiccup to make sure he was ok. It wasn't hard to find him. There was so much colour in the sky, all she had to do was search for the spot with none whatsoever. There, the black speck in the center of it all, facing down a Stormcutter and its rider.

o~0~O~0~o

Smoke and flames bathed ground in a manner similar to the realm of Helheim and the air was alive with sparks of flame and roars of fury. To the untrained eye, chaos reigned as death flew in from above.

In the center of it all, was four beings. The Stormcutter and the Night Fury circled each other in the air as their riders stared each other down.

The Stormcutter had a clear size advantage. It's four wings gave him better stability and maneuverability, though he was slow and needed his prey to be up front and personal in order to deal any real damage. Perhaps his greatest asset was his unique ability to turn the sky around him into his own personal hurricane to disrupt the flight of his enemies.

His rider wore leather armour that matched the beast in colour and a helmet made to mimic the tusks of a Bewilderbeast. She made her perch on the dragon's back look like her natural environment as she stood tall and immovable, despite the lack of a saddle. However, if one looked closely enough they would notice a slight reservation in her posture, as if she was dreading the possible confrontation.

The Night Fury on the other hand was fast and sleek. He had the advantage in fire power and was adapt in using hit and run attacks. Though the black dragon was considerably smaller than his opponent, size isn't everything. Strength abounded in the lithe dragon's body, making it able to fight on par with dragons such as the Monstrous Nightmare. The Night Fury was apex predator of the dragon world, a killing machine like no other.

The dragon's rider, dressed in form fitting black armour and a helmet designed to mimic the beast he rode, was no slouch either. Though he was thin in stature, he was used to dragging around large chunks of metal and beating blocks of iron into submission. He was clever, quick and precise, trained as he was by the steady hand of Toklo, this man was used to delivering massive damage with every blow.

They each sized each other up, noting strengths and weaknesses as they could and coming up with strategies to take the other down should the need arise.

Valka was tense. She didn't know her son, his particular mannerisms or personality. She couldn't even read his face as long as he kept that mask on. She knew Astrid had told him of her existence by this point, but how had he taken it. Would he be happy, mad, shocked into disbelief? She didn't know.

To her solace, her son and his dragon slowly turned away from the pair and higher into the sky. She breathed a sigh of relief. He had accepted her it seemed. She was sure there would be words after the battle, but for now, it was time to teach Drago a lesson.

She smiled when she heard the pitch of a Night Fury's wail begin to sound through the air. A Night Fury never missed and its fire had enough power to punch through solid rock. In a second, the trapper's last means of defense, the tower they'd constructed, would be gone, replaced by a pile of smouldering ash and debris.

The shot fired.

The tower never exploded.

Instead, a brilliant purple explosion tore Cloudjumper and Valka from the sky.

It took a few seconds for Cloudjumper to recover from the blast and he straightened out his flight a mere 100 feet above the ground. He groaned in agony. His upper right wing was useless and several of the scales on his back and side had been peeled right off his skin. The flesh underneath was blistered and burned, worse, he was exposed to any second attack. He was already lucky as it was, if he'd been a lesser dragon, he'd already be dead. He still could be if that blasted Night Fury got another shot at him and Valka.

Valka! Where was she!

He turned and looked around frantically for her. There! A Hobblegrunt had her. Her mask and most of the upper half of her armor had disappeared in the explosion. The edges of what was left were still smouldering and her skin was badly burned. Her right arm looked to be in a bad way and she was no longer conscious. To make matters worse, the trappers had retreated to a more defensible position, leaving the fort altogether and they were now beginning to hold their own considering only a handful of dragons at a time were able to get at them.

If Valka was awake, she could bring in the Bewilderbeast and freeze them all, but she wasn't. It was over, they had lost. He roared loud so that all the dragons could hear him. It was time to retreat.

o~0~O~0~o

Drago watched the standoff between the two dragon riders and the explosion that tore the dragon thief from the sky. Clearly the two were not working together which surprised him to a degree. He was somewhat impressed as the skies began to clear. The dragons were in full retreat, the battle was won and they had quite a few heads to add to his dragon army now.

They made their way back to the fort. It was a mess. Every single ship in the harbour had been sunk or was burning, except for Hiccup's. The Night Fury was missing its sails and rigging and had a few scorch marks on the deck and hull, but otherwise, she was still standing tall.

The walls were gone, most of the defenses were destroyed and though the tower was still standing, it had sustained heavy damage and would have to be rebuilt.

Hiccup and Astrid were standing with their dragons in the middle of it all, surveying the damage. The trappers all ran to the two, hailing them as heroes for saving their life. If this was what the two of them could do, scatter an army and raise the moral of his men, maybe they would be good tools to keep around. He'd keep his eye one them and maybe rethink his plan of killing them off, as long as they kept playing ball.

"Good job." Drago told them in an act of praise rarely bestowed upon his followers.

Both dragon riders bowed in acknowledgement.

"Can you tell us just what happened?" He then asked the two.

Astrid gave Hiccup a questioning glance, asking if she should tell him everything. Hiccup nodded for her to give him what he wanted.

"Last night, I was out flying with Eret Jr. He was curious about Quicksand and what it was like to fly. While we were out, we were kidnapped by the Dragon Thief. Eret broke and told her everything, including the fact that you were here without your armada. I managed to escape with Quicksand and rushed back here to warn you of the coming attack, but I only made it back a few moments before the attack began. She must have rushed here when she learned I was missing."

Drago nodded, "Did you find the nest?"

"No." She lied. It was better he didn't know the location of the nest. "We were taken to a nearby island when we were captured and questioned there."

"I need you to follow them and learn where it is located."

"No." Hiccup told him.

"What?"

"That would be a fool hardy decision at the moment. There's a reason why they call Toothless a Night Fury and not a Light Fury **[1]**. He blends into the darkness not the light. It would be suicide to go after them right now. We'd be spotted immediately and now, we're marked as enemies. There's only so many dragons we can take on at once. I'd send Astrid after them, but she's been up for over 24 hours now. I'd worry over her and Quicksand falling asleep and crashing into the ocean. Dragons aren't as smart as humans though. They didn't cover their tracks and scatter as I would have directed them, they all went immediately for the nest. We know in which direction it's located. I'll let Astrid sleep, we'll fix the Night Fury and get her ready to sail so that we have a base of operations to work from and then we'll go find it for you. Does that work?"

Drago thought about the logic. It made sense, but there was a problem. He could spare Hiccup for a few days, but he needed him soon. He couldn't have the dragon rider gone for an extended period of time right now. There would need to be an adjustment.

"No, send the girl, I need you here to help me out with something. There's a meeting in a few days, your attendance is manditory."

Hiccup nodded, "Agreed. I can join Astrid when this meeting is over."

Drago was satisfied. This would work, but he was putting a lot of trust into a man he barely even knew. There had better be no screw ups.

o~0~O~0~o

Toklo and Karpok had watched the battle over the fort with confusion. Where had all the dragons come from? Not from Drago apparently. He and his men seemed to be on the wrong end of the fight and taking heavy losses, and she knew they hadn't come from Hiccup, He would have let her know before hand if he planned on attacking Drago.

She had quickly mounted Karpok, slung an arrow into her bow and charged down to the battle. Then it was over. One blast from the Night Fury ended the onslaught of dragons. Toklo hadn't even been able to let loose one arrow. It was over that fast and she was left to go back into hiding.

It wasn't long before a Terrible Terror approached her with a note attached to it. She opened it up and read it. It was from Hiccup, he had a favor to ask her.

 **(A/N)**

 **[1] Yes, I saw the trailer. I would have called it a Day Fury, but whatever. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to the movie much. I think adding another Fury to the franchise was the worst idea Dream Works could have come up with, but I don't on the franchise. I guess I just like the mystery surrounding Toothless when he's the only one left in existence. He just seems more elusive and special when he's the only one. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to the third movie that much.**


	41. Chapter 41

**(A/N) Hey, I'm back. I wrote most of this chapter after being up for 24 hours straight, so this should be interesting.**

 **Btw, WE DID IT! WE HIT 300 FAVORITES AND 350 FOLLOWERS! If I haven't said it enough before, YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! Thank you for all of your support and your reviews. Honestly, without you guys I never would have gotten this far. You all make my day every single time I see a new review, follow or favourite. It makes writing this story so much more fun to write knowing that people are actually enjoying it.**

 **Also, I went back to the last chapter and changed two things. First of all, I let Astrid take the Night Fury (Hiccup's ship) to the nest. Second, I gave Toklo a little blurb right at the end and sent her with Astrid.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **2lazy2login: Thank you, and it's good to see I'm not the only one.**

 **Guest 1: Joshua 1:1-9**

 **Guest 2: Ya. My main with her honestly is I've read too many fanfictions where there's more than one "Fury" and they usually don't do it well, so I'm a bit prejudiced against adding more Furys.**

 **Guest 3, 4 & 5: Yep.**

 **Guest 6: How Ludacris of me. The spelling mistake has been noted and corrected, thank you.**

 **Ferocious Nightfury: Sorry**

 **Little NightFury17: Yes, I do.**

 **ChrisToothless: I'll still watch it and will probably enjoy it the first time around unless they really mess up, but I doubt it will be one I watch over and over again like I do the first movie.**

 **Chapter 41**

This was in no way a good idea. Even with a dragon for support, trying to find a wounded and probably angry dragon rider and her dragon in a mountain full of possibly hostile dragons seemed like suicide to her. And she didn't even have her axe anymore! Just the thought of her precious weapon lying at the bottom of the sea, rusting away made Astrid mourn its loss. Hiccup had offered to make her a new one, but repairs on the Night Fury had taken precedence and so she was still without.

It had taken five days to get the ship operational again. Only then had she had learned Toklo would be joining her for the three-day journey to Valka's nest. THREE WHOLE DAYS ALONE TOGETHER! Hiccup was obviously oblivious to the fact that she and Toklo didn't get along well together. Either that or he was painfully aware and had waited until the last possible second to tell her so he wouldn't have to deal with either of the two women until the journey was done.

Where Toklo was now? She had no idea, nor did she care. She had helped the woman and her Polar Bear into the nest and had told her how to get to cavern they'd interrogated Eret in, but then she and the bear had disappeared. How did she even hide a giant white bear in a place like this? And why was she hiding?

The whole situation seemed off to her. Astrid wasn't sure if she had made the right decision trusting Hiccup back at Eret's Fort or if she should have just gone with her gut and killed the monster right then and there. What Hiccup said made sense, sort of. Then again, he'd defeated an entire Roman Armada before with ease now that she thought of it. So why did he need that army?

More and more questions were being raised as time went on. What did Hiccup actually all do these last few years. How had he come to lead the Lava Louts? What was he doing with the likes of Alvin the Outcast? Where did Toklo even come from? How had he even peak Drago's interests anyways? What was his end goal?

She hated being in the dark and wanted to start getting answers. She was beginning to think only one person actually saw the whole picture. Scratch that, two. Hiccup seemed to trust Toklo enough to include her in everything, which was the whole reason that woman was here to begin with. She wasn't stupid, Hiccup had some other motive to bringing that woman along than to offer an apology for shooting Valka out of the sky.

She and Quicksand flew into the same cavern as before. The Nadder she'd originally rode in on was still there, along with someone else underneath of her.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show her face again."

"Eret?"

"Who else?" He asked, and then grunted as the Nadder shifted in her sleep, nuzzling Eret in closer to her with her beak.

"Awww, how cute. She likes you."

"The feeling is not mutual!"

Astrid laughed, "Here let me give you a hand." She said as she raised her hand to her mouth and sent out a sharp whistle. Instantly the Nadder woke and squawked a greeting to the familiar face. It took no longer than a few seconds for Quicksand to bound over and begin a game of chase with her.

Now that the 2600 pound animal was no longer laying on him, Eret took the opportunity to get up and stretch.

"OHHHHHH, Finally! That feels good." He groaned as he cracked his back.

Astrid chuckled a little, but turned her attention back to the Nadder and gave another sharp whistle. The two dragons stopped chasing each other and came over to the woman. "There we are, good dragons." She praised as she gave them both a scratch underneath the chin, earning a pleased croon from each of them. Astrid smiled, then turned to ask the Nadder a question, "Hey girl, do you think you can go get Valka for me?"

The Nadder squawked, turned to run down a nearby passageway. She figured that meant yes.

"Your bringing that lady here, again?" Eret asked, "Pleased don't tell me I'm going to get turned into a yack ball again?"

"That shouldn't be necessary."

"So how did your little raid go? Did you win."

"Ummm…. I think so."

"What do you mean you think so? You either did or didn't, now which is it?"

"It's complicated."

"Is Drago dead?"

"No."

"Is he wounded?"

"No."

"Did Valka Die?"

"No."

"Did Hiccup die?"

"No."

"Did anybody gain anything?"

"I don't think so."

"So, what was the point!"

"I don't know!"

Eret sighed, "Then can you at least tell me who we lost?"

Astrid looked down in shame, "Your Father, a few of his men and a lot of dragons."

Eret paused, "My father…"

"I'm sorry."

Eret turned on her, anger and sadness clearly visible in his eyes, "What got him… in then end? Was it a Monstrous Nightmare? He always hated those things. He said they gave off too much heat, aggravated his chest for some reason."

"No, it wasn't a dragon." Astrid defensively cried out, "It was Drago... He killed him himself."

What? No… it can't be."

"I'm sorry, but Drago's spear was protruding from his chest when I talked with the monster."

Eret whipped his head up and glared daggers at her, "That's impossible; Drago would never do something like that to his most prized dragon trapper."

"Is it?" A New voice spoke up.

Both people turned their heads to the new comer. Valka slowly limped her way into the room. Her arm was in a cast, a piece of her hair had been burned away and her skin was badly burned in places. She was flanked by both the Nadder and Cloudjumper, who looked to be in no better condition than Valka was.

"I seem to remember not too long ago a very esteemed man in Drago's employ. He was making things quite interesting for me. Went by the name 'Krogan'. He did something few have every figured out how. How to ride a dragon. One day he's out there, trapping dragons with a Death song and holding eggs hostage. The next, poof, he's gone. Never to be seen again. And that's just a recent example. Many more have perished on Drago's order. Your father just appears to be one more on a very long list. That's why he needs to be stopped."

Eret was appalled, he knew Drago was cruel, but this? "Then why didn't you kill him! You said it yourself! You were right there!"

"I- I- I wanted to…" Astrid began, but then found out she didn't know what else to say.

Eret sighed, he didn't know what to do anymore.

The Nadder crooned sadly and nudged the upset man. His whole world had just shattered, and he felt he didn't even have the strength to fight her and instead, leaned against her touch.

Valka walked closer to the man and put a comforting arm around him. Her left one as her right was in the sling. It was then that Astrid was able to get a good look at her injuries and gasped.

"Valka, your arm!"

"I know, nothing that I can do about that now. I just have to wait for it to heal on its own."

"No! It's turning purple. You didn't set it right. If you leave it like that, you'll lose it!"

"I did the best I could."

Astrid shook her head in disbelief, "I have some basic battlefield medical training, let's go to a place with more light and I'll set it properly for you."

o~0~O~0~o

This was a sight he had seen before. Several men were seated around a horseshoe table with him at the head. Last time there had been more, but after much discussion, Hiccup had managed to convince him that a smaller number of leaders was more desirable. Sure, it meant less soldiers in his army, but it also meant less regions being controlled, and therefore, more power for him.

There were five leaders in all here today. Emperor Zhandi, newly crowned Emperor of China after his father's recent passing. Vukan, King of Slavs, a small country in the Baltic states, which was currently under occupation by the Romans. Bradford, leader of a resistance that had formed under Roman rule in Britanniae. Cleopatra VII, pharaoh of Egypt, who was now desperately fending off Roman Rule. Vologasas, King of Persia who was currently at war with Rome and was looking for allies to join him in the fight.

These men and woman were perfect. A couple large empires to put forth man power and a few smaller ones looking for any way to expand. Best of all, they all seemed to have a beef with the current world super power, Rome. Even Zhandi had recently had a pretty large spat with the Roman Emperor over some trade deals. That gave them all a common enemy and a reason to work together.

"Gentlemen." Drago greeted, "I welcome you all here once again."

Translators hurried to translate Drago's speech into each ruler's native tongue.

"The last time we were all gathered together we witnessed the destruction of a Roman fleet by an unknown force. I stand before today to say that force is unknown no longer. I give to you the rider of the infamous Night Fury, the offspring of Lightning and Death itself. The man who single handedly destroyed an Roman Fleet, Hiccup the Horrendous."

A door opened and a young man in black armour walked in, flanked by his black dragon. Drago smirked at the display. The pair were an intimidating sight to behold and by the looks on the various leader's faces, they were doing just that. Good. This would give him the upper hand in negotiations.

"Hiccup and I came upon an agreement. I help him take over the Barbaric Archipelago and he becomes the new governor, undisputed ruler of the Vikings and answering only to me. I'm offering you all the same deal. Give your allegiance to me and become esteemed members of the new Draconic Empire. I am giving you all the first opportunity to join. I warn you however, there are only a limited number of seats available and they'll be closing up soon. Who will join?

o~0~O~0~o

Valka brought them back to her personal living space. There was a fire pit, some food storage, a few furs to lay down on and not much else, but it would do.

Eret was just sitting by the fire with the Nadder, who was refusing to leave his side for some reason or another. She seemed to be preening him as he sat poking at the flames with a stick. His two short swords were nearby, making Astrid a bit nervous that he would grab them and start hacking his way to freedom, but he paid them no mind. He'd seemed to have gotten used to her presence and made no move to stop her.

Valka sat on her bed with Astrid, who had removed the older woman's sling and was examining the arm. Parts of the skin had been heavily burnt. Though it had been cleaned several times by the looks of it, infection was beginning to creep in. She could easily fix that, but the rea problem was the bone of her upper arm had broken and begun healing in a slightly twisted position and was cutting off some of the circulation, giving it that purplish colouring and

"Blast Thor's soiled skivvies." Astrid muttered to herself.

"What?" Valka asked.

"I can reset the bone, but I'll have to rebreak it first."

Valka nodded in understanding, though the look on her face said she wished for anything else.

"Alright. The brake is still fresh, so it won't take much yanking to get it moving again, but this is still going to hurt… a lot." Astrid warned as she brought a table over and braced Valka's arm against it.

Valka nodded and grabbed a piece of wood to bite down on.

"1… 2… 3!" Astrid yelled and then yanked on Valka's arm. With a sickening crunch, the bone broke again and Valka screamed in pain. "Sorry!" Astrid winced as she began resetting the bone back to where it should be and began looking around for anything she could use to treat the infection. She didn't see anything which meant she would have to visit a healer soon and pick up something up for the woman.

"What exactly happened out there?" Valka asked when she had finally recovered enough. "You were supposed to talk to Hiccup and get him to fight for the dragons. What went wrong?"

Astrid began fretting, "I don't exactly know. Things are strange when it comes to Hiccup sometimes. He has these plans, sees things in a different light. He sees a bigger picture than the rest of us seem to, but he's also impulsive, coming up with ideas on the fly. I don't know how he does it sometimes."

"And attacking his own mother and letting a mad man live was one of his impulses?" she asked.

"He doesn't believe you're his mother. He doesn't have much of a reason to believe your word for it either to be honest. I mean you supposedly died 19 years ago."

"Alright, but he still could have killed Drago in the confusion. You too! You were right there."

"I've been second guessing my decision to side with Hiccup on that ever since. I'm not sure if it was the right move anymore."

"Let me get this straight." Eret interrupted, "I've been listening in and trying to put this all together. There's Valka, Hiccup and Drago, who may or may not be working together. And with how much the Romans have been popping up, they're probably involved somehow too. And somewhere in the midst of all this chaos and political dragon crap there's you, some lass who just happened to pop into Hiccup's life what? A month ago, or something like that?"

"Something like that?"

"And just whose side are you on?"

"Honestly, I don't really know anymore. Berk, Hiccup's Drago's Valka's? The lines have become so blurred, chaotic and intertwined, I can't even tell who is fighting for who anymore. I guess I'm on the side that has the greater good in mind."

"Alright then… I'm in."

"What!?"

"I said I'm in. There's no way I'm going to join back up with Drago now and it seems like there's a better use for my life than putting Dragons in cages. I'm not just going to sit around, watching the world burn and cry over my dead dad. I say we pack up this pity party, figure out exactly what's going on and kick Drago's butt and whoever else deserves it!"

A clapping sound arose from the back of the room and all three of them along with the dragons turned their heads to the source. A white bear and a young woman with dark skin and black hair walked out into the open.

"That's the spirit! Never give up, keep fighting until the end."

"Oi! Who's this" Eret asked.

"And how'd you find this place?" Valka pretty much yelled.

Astrid cleared her throat, "Uh, Eret, Valka, this is-"

"Toklo." The woman finished, "Hiccup's second in command and the woman who has the full picture for you, if you really want to know."

o~0~O~0~o

The meeting was over. Drago had his alliance. Six rulers to govern over six large pieces of land with Drago as their supreme leader.

So, with everything discussed and planned out, from who would support who to the first strike against the Roman Empire, Hiccup was curious to see three of the leaders, Zhandi, Vukan and Vologasas duck out and make for the nearby forest with their translators. It didn't take long for him to find them talking to each other in hushed voices.

 **"What do you think they're talking about?"** Toothless asked.

"I don't know, let's find out." Hiccup proposed as he stepped out into the open with Toothless by his side. "Nice day for a walk isn't it? That is if you don't mind the snow, ice and the frigid temperature." Hiccup called out.

The men startled and drew their swords, which earned a warning growl from Toothless. Hiccup raised his arms in a placating manner.

"Now, now, no need to get violent. Unless of course you're discussing something that might undermine the spirit of the Draconic Alliance, as Drago is calling it." Hiccup waited a moment as the translators reiterated his comment to the leaders in their own languages.

It was Vologasas, King of Persia, who spoke up first, "What we discuss is none of your concern, now move along."

"So what if he knows?" The Chinese emperor spoke up, "We were discussing the feasibility of the alliance and how long it will remain strong. There is no friendship, no trust. We all know of Drago and his cruelty and agree, under his leadership, his empire will not last."

Hiccup enjoyed the looks of shock on the other two men's faces as Zhandi's words were finally translated to them. The Chinese Emperor was young, brash and overconfident, but they never expected him to display his cards so quickly. The young man had a lot to learn.

Hiccup laughed, "Choose your words carefully, you are not always among friends. However, you were lucky, I feel the same way. The only reason I agreed to join Drago at all was to meet you. When you leave to go back to your respective countries, I'd advise you to head to my island, a place called Dragon's Edge. There might be a much more lucrative deal waiting there for you, if you're interested."

o~0~O~0~o

Valka read the note in her hands over and over. It was addressed from Hiccup,

 _Dear Valka,_

 _I apologize for my actions against you during your raid on Eret's Fort. I hope you were not hurt to badly during the exchange, but I had to keep up appearances. You see, Drago is part of a larger plan, a pawn, waiting to be knocked off the board. The Barbaric Archipelago has known nothing but war for the last 300 years. Tribe against tribe and dragons caught in between, and now that peace may just be on the horizon, outside forces have come to threaten it. I seek to remedy that by unifying the Barbaric Archipelago into one kingdom that will stand strong, Dragons and Vikings working together to show the world that we are not to be messed with, and finally have peace once and for all. However, in order for this to be a reality, Drago must live a while longer._

 _Any questions you may have can be addressed to Toklo, and I hope you can forgive us._

 _-HHIII_

Eret and Astrid had both seen it, and none of them knew what to make of it. Toklo had been very informative and thing looked to be on the up and up, but something seemed off to her. She couldn't figure out what though.

Astrid and Eret still wanted to go talk to Hiccup themselves, even after talking with Toklo however. So, they had mounted Quicksand and had just left about 5 minutes ago. The Nadder had followed, she seemed quite attached to the young man.

She would have tried to make the trip, but with her and Cloudjumper in the state they were, it was best not to.

o~0~O~0~o

The things she did for Hiccup sometimes. First, three days locked up on a boat with little miss dragon rider and now this. Toklo strung an arrow and Karpok crouched low, ready for action. It wasn't that she particularly minded. Astrid was only here temporary anyways. It wouldn't be long before Hiccup and the blond girl's goals conflicted in such a way that it would drive them apart for good. She just hoped it she would be there to witness it.

Then there was this job, playing messenger girl was one thing, but this was something else. It had to be done though. She would do just about anything for that man. He was just so driven, adventurous, strong, handsome, intriguing, sarcastic. He was maddening at times, but he was also quick witted, intelligent, curious… she could go on and on but… maybe another time. There was just something about him that drew her closer to him. If only he'd stop and actually look at her as more than just his second in command sometime.

Stop it. Now was not the time to be fantasizing.

She readied her bow.

Breath in… Breath out… Breath in… breath out… release…

There arrow left the bow and shot straight towards its target.

Cloudjumper roared in pain and jumped to his feet as the arrow plunged deep into his right shoulder blade. It wouldn't kill him, his skin was much too thick for that, even as close as they were, but both of his wings on that side were done now, and a downed dragon is a dead dragon.

With the major threat now much easier to deal with, she quickly strung another arrow and aimed it at her true target… Valka. Assassination may not be her strong suit, but that didn't mean she wasn't skilled enough to carry one out. She was just about to let her second arrow fly when Karpok bucked. Cloudjumper had apparently spotted them and swatted the bear with his tail as he grabbed his rider and took off down a tunnel.

Cursing her luck and the fact that the element of surprise was gone, Toklo and Karpok tore off down the tunnel in hot pursuit.

o~0~O~0~o

"Did you hear that?" Eret asked.

"Yep." Astrid answered.

"Think we should check it out?"

"Yep."

o~0~O~0~o

That arrow may have sunk deeper than she thought. Drops of blood had begun appearing on the floor in larger and larger quantities and the two of them appeared to be gaining. That was regrettable. She never wanted to kill the dragon, just make sure it couldn't kill her. She guessed that was the result of using Gronkle Iron tipped arrows. More penetrating power.

They'd have to watch out once they got close. Even if the Stormcutter was wounded and grounded, it still had a huge amount of strength and a fire blast. It wouldn't be easy taking it down. It was best to remain out of sight as much as possible.

The cave up ahead grew lighter and lighter. It opened up and they found themselves in a giant cavern filled with hundreds upon hundreds of dragons and jungle plants that shouldn't exist in a place like this. It was truly a sight to behold, if she wasn't on a mission.

Over there! She just spotted the Stormcutter's tail disappear behind that bush. They both crept silently up to them. They were perfectly concealed from their prey behind the bush. Valka and Cloudjumper had paused at the edge of a nearby cliff. The Stormcutter was tiring out. He'd lost too much blood and Valka was just about going crazy watching her companion dying right in front of her while she was unable to do anything to help.

She brought her bow up again.

Breath in… Breath out… Breath in… Breath out…

"RAAAWWK!"

The Nadder's roar alerted her to the incoming attack and Toklo rolled off of Karpok. The Nadder's talons just missed her, but the distraction had also saved Valka's life as the shot went wide, the arrow missing the woman by about two feet.

Even as Toklo hit the ground she was bouncing back on her feet and was on the lookout for her attacker.

"Oi! You better watch out there missy, you dealing with the greatest dragon trapper alive now! Well… ex-dragon trapper."

Great, it was that Eret guy. He just stood there with his duel swords at the ready, the Nadder from before standing at his back with her wings raised up in a threatening manner. Behind them, Astrid and Quicksand were rushing to Valka's side to make sure the two were ok and render aid. Crap. Hiccup was going to freak when he learned Astrid had found out about this.

Toklo turned her attention back to Eret, the only threat at the moment. He was smiling smugly and waiting for her to make the first move. Clearly, he didn't expect much from her.

She knocked two arrows and drew them back faster than the eye could see before letting them fly. They each tracked to their target and hit both of Eret's swords, sending them both flying from his grasp and knocking him on his back.

The Nadder rushed in, intent on protecting her charge and Toklo jumped back on Karpok's saddle so they could meet the charge. As soon as they were in close range, Toklo jumped from Karpok's saddle and onto the Nadder's back. The dragon tried to throw her off, but she jammed her elbow into the her back, just above the wing. Instantly the Nadder was down, the right side of her body paralyzed for the next five minutes. She squawked weekly, trying to get back onto her feet, but was unable to do so. Turns out sparing with dragons had its' benefits.

The bear and the woman stalked over to the ex-dragon trapper who had gotten back to his feet and was looking for his weapons. When he saw the pair coming towards him he raised his hand's in surrender, "Easy now… I'm sure we can just-" A swipe from Karpok sent him tumbling over the edge of the cliff. Toklo walked over and glanced down. Thankfully he had managed to grab a vine and was hanging on for dear life. Good. Though Toklo was no stranger to killing, she preferred to do so only when necessary, and this wasn't necessary.

She looked back to where Cloudjumper had collapsed. The two women were still tending to the dragon. It seemed Astrid had removed the arrow and was packing it to try and stem the bleeding, though Astrid had seen what happened and started relaying some instructions to Valka. Probably just about how to finish packing the wound. Then she hopped on Quicksand and got ready for a fight.

Hmmm. This might not be so bad after all. She'd finally get to teach this girl a lesson. Just her and Karpok against Astrid and Quicksand.

Toklo swung another bow and got ready to fire as Karpok charged in to meet the dragon in close range. They would have been charbroiled if it wasn't for the arrow that she fired at just the right moment. Quicksand had to dodge quick in order to keep his rider from getting shot. The move also earned him a swipe across the face from the Polar Bears paw. Five small cuts ran down the side of his face and the dragon roared in anger, before turning to fire another blast at the pair. Toklo felt the heat, but the shot went wild, burning some nearby plant life instead.

Two shots down, six to go.

She knew it wouldn't be easy to take down the pair. A lone dragon is one thing, but one with a rider is something else entirely; and from what Hiccup had said, Astrid was good.

Quicksand swiped a paw at the pair, which Karpok dodged under and attempted to push the dragon back while the underbelly was exposed. He managed to succeed in forcing the dragon back a couple feet, but the dragon was stronger and easily brought them to a halt once again. Astrid and Toklo just did their best to hang on during the exchange.

Toklo and Karpok backed off. Clearly, they weren't going to win using strength alone. Before they could come up with another plan however, Quicksand lunged for the pair. Toklo fell back and ended up hanging off of Karpok's side as the lunge sent the dragon and his rider over the two of them. Her opponent's back was now too her so she took the opportunity and fired another arrow. It sailed on true to it's mark, but stopped just short of striking Astrid when the young woman reached up and caught it in her hands.

Impressive. This girl was good.

Quicksand turned around and fired another blast at the pair. Karpok jumped out of the way, but even still, Toklo had to shield herself from the explosion of dirt where they'd been standing just moments before.

When she looked up, Astrid and Quicksand were gone.

She looked around frantically for the dragon and his rider, but she didn't see them. That's when Karpok growled a warning. There! Up above!

Toklo was yanked from the saddle before she could do anything and was flying above the ground at a dizzying rate of speed. Down below, Karpok was desperately trying to get back to his rider, but there wasn't much he could do from the ground.

Toklo saw only one option to get out of this, but it was going to hurt. She withdrew another arrow from her quiver and raised it in the air. With one quick slice, she ran the sharp edge along the length of Quicksand's wing membrane. With a cry of pain, the dragon began falling from the sky. All three of them braced themselves as they crashed into the ground.

Toklo was thrown from the dragon's grasp and Astrid was thrown from the saddle. Both girls shakily stood to their feet and stared each other down.

It was a big relief when Karpok arrived by her side again to back her up. Toklo wasn't sure if she was in any condition to fight right now.

She turned back to Astrid, who was limping towards her dragon, "Had your fun?" she asked.

Astrid never answered as she began checking her dragon over. He appeared to be mostly fine, just dazed.

Seeing she wasn't going to get an answer, Toklo mounted Karpok and looked to where Valka had been moments before. She was still there. She refused to leave her dragon as long as he was down. All the better. It made it easier to hunt her down.

She drew back her arrow and got ready to take the shot.

A large mass moved beside her and she turned to take a look. "Sweet mother of a Light Fury!"

Karpok shook in fear at the size of the beast in front of them. She'd never thought she'd see anything bigger than the Red Death, but this beast was easily bigger than the dragon Queen. This was it. She was dead. There was no beating this behemoth.

There was one last thing she could do though. Her final act, finish her mission before she died so Hiccup could succeed. She forced her attention off of the massive dragon, drew back her bow and fired as an icy breath enveloped her body.

o~0~O~0~o

Join Drago's army, Check. Gain his trust, Check. Meet some of his powerful friends, check. Organize a secret meeting with Drago's friends, check.

Everything was going according to plan, except for one thing. Toklo was supposed to send him a Terror Mail two days ago. Hiccup was beginning to get worried. Maybe she hadn't had the chance. Maybe the Terror had been blown off course. Maybe, maybe, maybe… He kept thinking up reasons why the Terror would be late, but he could feel it. Something was wrong. So, he wrote his own Terror Mail and sent it off on a long journey North.

 **(A/N) Hehe, please don't kill me.**

 **I imagine some of you are going "What the crap!" I kind of expect this chapter and the next to be somewhat controversial, I just hope I can pull this off properly.**

 **And before I get anyone complaining about the historical accuracy of this story, I put Emperor Nero in the same time as the Vikings, so I'm already fudging with history and don't care if none of the leaders actually match up with where they should be. This is a work of fiction. I did try to make all of the world leaders from around the time of Emperor Nero, but I didn't put much effort into it. Also, Bradford is a made-up character, so don't bother googling him. The rest are real though.**

 **Sorry this didn't come out earlier. I was hoping to update at the beginning of the week, but I had to go and rewrite large portions of this chapter and actually scrapped quite a few scenes. I originally started out this chapter from Toklo's point of view and finished with Astrid's but then I realized I was going on about the same things I had already gone on bot in previous chapters and most of it could just be scrapped all together, so you get this as the final arc in Astrid versus Toklo. I hopped I did the fight between them justice.**

 **Also, just a little teaser for you guys, I know we haven't really seen much of Berk since Astrid left, but were heading back there in two chapters! So look forward to that.**


	42. Chapter 42

**(A/N) Ya, I kind of expect the ending of this chapter to be a bit controversial and I may end up losing a few of you over this. Sorry in advance, but I will explain my reasoning for doing things this way in the A/N at the bottom of the chapter. I hope you guys are not too mad at me.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **TheWhisperingWarrior:** ** _You did but now I want to see what the conclusion of the fight was, did Toklo succeed in her mission and was she killed? If she was or if she has been taken hostage then Hiccup is going to be really mad and take matters into his own hands._**

 **Reading is the only way to find out:)**

 **Ferocious Nightfury:** ** _well... what the crap!? uuhh toklo doesnt die does she? and why would hiccup do something as stupid as send a terror? it could easily be intercepted. also could you put our review as well before your answer please? i seriously dont remember what i wrote and why you said sorry. i dont think anyone remembers their reviews. also awesome chapter mate. cant wait for more. please update quickly..._**

 **Hahaha, couldn't have said that better myself. I also don't think the Terror was used for what you think it was used for. I have also taken your advice into consideration as you can probably see.**

 **Arethahiwatari:** ** _I loved this cap mainly for loving astrid and a possible hicstrid and things with toklo in the middle of them were a little confusing. I hope astrid and valka are well and can not wait to see hiccup's reaction when he understands what happened. Please post as soon as possible._**

 **I'm glad you enjoyed it, I hope you enjoy this one just as much.**

 **Guest 1:** ** _Hoping toklo isn't actually dead, after all, toothless and hiccup were alive after breaking the ice... Sending toklo to a unknown place, full of dragons was a stupid plan for someone so smart though. Hoping for Hiccups plan to succeed, honestly don't care much at all about valka._**

 **Well, we each have our off days and bad ideas.**

 **Mudsbreath:** ** _I have no words._**

 **Lol**

 **Brenne:** ** _Is Toklo dead? What will happen now? I'm so glad you updated! I missed you! I GOTTA see what happens next! Looking forward to more! XD_**

 **Haha, I missed you too. I though I had lost you as a reader for a while there. The last time you reviewed was all the way back at chapter 38. Only four chapters, I know, but still. I hope you'll still be with me when I get to the end.**

 **Chapter 42**

It had been too long, way too long. Toklo was supposed to send him that Terror Mail a week and a half ago, and yet there was still no word from the woman. He'd wanted to go after her the day of her disappearance, but Drago had kept him and the others busy in strategy meetings until now. Finally, the man had released them to go gather their armies for the first attack.

Finally, he was free to go join up with the small fleet he'd sent after her.

As three of the six leaders in the alliance slowly made their way across the sea to Dragon's Edge, Hiccup in his panic pushed Toothless as fast as he could go toward Valka's nest. The ships he was looking for should be somewhere in that direction.

There!

Three boats not made of wood and metal, as Viking ships usually were, but of bone and whale hide and pulled along by a few Thunderdrums. It was the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's.

Chief Kaskae, Toklo's father, waved to him from the lead ship. Taking the cue, Hiccup and Toothless landed with an easy grace. Even still, the boat sank an extra two feet into the water with the added weight.

Kaskae had a grim look on his face that matched Hiccup's, but he greeted him like an old friend anyways, "Hello Hiccup, it's good to see you again." He spoke in his native language, "I received your Terror mail, any word from my daughter?"

Hiccup quickly switched to the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's native language, "No. I'm afraid not." He said sadly.

Toklo's brother, Kappiataitok walked up to the two, "Hey Hiccup, nice to see you."

"You as well," Hiccup replied, "Though I wish it was under better circumstances."

Kappiataitok nodded, "I have 27 warriors, not including us three, ready for anything. Can you give us any idea what were up against?"

Hmmm, apparently without the Sangilak's hunting them down, the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's had begun making a comeback. He was happy for them. As good of warriors as they were, they deserved peace.

Hiccup shook his head, "Not much I'm afraid. There are two, possibly three people other than Toklo inside the nest. I'm not sure what their reaction to us will be. They may be friendly, but be prepared for the worst. For sure, there will be an older woman who goes by the name of Valka. She claims to be my long dead mother, I believe she's lying. She's good with dragons, but she is also injured at the moment. Secondly, there is a young woman with blond hair. She's a Valkyrie named Astrid. She's a good warrior, fights with an axe and is backed up by a Sand Wraith. The third person is a dragon trapper named Eret. He and his late father claim to be the best in the business. I'm not sure if he's alive or dead or if he'll fight with us or against us. There could be more, but those are the three I know about. Other than that, we're walking straight into an unknown, possibly hostile dragon nest, so stay quiet and out of sight or we'll be dealing with more dragons than we know what to do with."

Kaskae and Kappiataitok nodded in understanding. This would be dangerous. The slightest misstep could mean their deaths.

o~0~O~0~o

The empty masts of the Night Fury stood tall amongst the ghostly wisps of fog. Ice hung from the ship like skeletal fingers in the darkness.

It was the landmark they'd been looking for that told them they had arrived as they approached the nest in the cover of night.

The group of warriors made their way up the side of the mountain, quickly, silently and unseen and continued on through the caverns. The Tuuluuwaq'Atka's white armour easily blended into the stone and ice surrounding them while Hiccup and Toothless melded into the shadows.

They heard voices up ahead and saw a light. Kappiataitok scouted ahead. Three individuals, two woman and a man accompanied by three dragons, just as Hiccup had warned. None of them had seen him and there was no Toklo to be found, so they moved on.

It was an hour later that they stumbled upon a gigantic jungle buried deep in the frozen nest. Dragons slumbered peacefully among the shrubbery or clinging to the walls in numbers that they couldn't even count. They gasped when they spotted the mountain of a dragon sleeping in a large lake. The white behemoth had two deadly tusks, but no wings, and easily dwarfed the Red Death. It appeared to have not noticed them in its sleep, so they continued on to find the lost daughter of the Chief.

It was Toothless who first sniffed out the blood, a trail of it leading from the cave to the edge of a nearby cliff. Below they could see signs of a struggle, a gash in the earth where something heavy had fallen from the sky.

And there, right next to the gash was a solid mound of ice. The group made their way down and approached it. They were shocked at what they saw. The warriors hung their heads in sorrow. Kaskae fell to his knees and wept, Kappiataitok stood in shock and Hiccup, for the first time in many years, finally broke down. With tears in his eyes he approached the statue of what had once been Toklo and Karpok.

They had been frozen solid instantly. He could still see her tussled hair sticking out of place and the mud and trace amounts of blood that stained her snow-white armour. The bear she rode still held a snarl on his lips as he gazed at an unseen enemy while Toklo's bow tracked it down. The look of determination on her face almost made the arrow that had frozen halfway out of the bow want to come to life again to track down the target she should have never missed.

His hand caressed the ice entombing the young woman, trying desperately to feel the warmth she had always brought to him. He spotted some exposed flesh. The hand that she had gripped the bow with had somehow remained unfrozen and he grasped it in his own. It was cold and stiff… lifeless.

A fresh wave of tears engulfed him and he pressed his forehead as close to her chest as he could and he realized what he'd lost. She was a close, personal friend, one of the few had. Someone he could rely on no matter the circumstance. The one person on this earth that he trusted more than anyone else, on par with Toothless even… and she was gone.

o~0~O~0~o

The dragons were agitated, something was wrong. Cloudjumper shifted restlessly in his dreamless sleep. His wounds were getting better and he could fly short distances now, but every movement he made was still very painful. It wasn't good for him to be shifting around like this.

Quicksand on the other hand was doing much better. The slice down his wing had been minor, nothing a few stitches hadn't fixed. However, he too was anxious, as if he was waiting for something.

It was the Nadder that had the three of them really worried though. She had picked up the scent of something and if whatever this thing could be was brave enough to venture this deep inside of a dragon nest, it probably was best not to underestimate it.

"I don't like this." Eret said, "I haven't seen them acting like this since I got here, what's wrong."

"Something is here." Valka answered as she grabbed her staff, "Something that shouldn't."

Eret nodded and reached over for his two swords. He attempted to put them in their scabbard, but then he remembered he was unable to. Toklo's arrows and punched their way through the steel and warped the metal around the holes. As such, he could only sheath them partway.

Astrid would have grabbed her weapon, but it was still rusting away at the bottom of the sea and she had yet to get a replacement.

The Nadder sensed that they wanted to figure out what was going on and took off after the scent. So, with great caution, Astrid, Valka, Eret and Quicksand followed down the small passage towards the threat, leaving only the injured Cloudjumper behind.

o~0~O~0~o

He heard it more than felt it. A faint thump emanating from the recesses of the mound… There it was again! Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, he felt some pressure on his hand as Toklo gave it a small squeeze!

"She's Alive!" Hiccup half shouted half laughed.

The rest of the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's just stood there in shock, not sure whether or not to believe him or believe he'd gone temporarily insane as a result of the lose. Heck, Hiccup wasn't even sure whether to believe him or not, but he couldn't afford not to hope.

He withdrew his sword, ignited it and started hacking away at the ice. Water poured down the blade, but the flame still burned strong. He was going to get her out. Toothless joined in by opening his maw and burning plasma at the back of his throat and adding his won heat to the sculpture, an ability Hiccup didn't even know the dragon had, but was grateful for none the less.

The warriors soon joined in by hacking off chunks of ice with swords, sticks, rocks and pretty much anything hard they could find. The mound quickly diminished in size.

First, her arm was free, then her chest. Hiccup pushed his head against it as soon as it was free of ice and listened.

Thump….

Thump….

Thump….

Thump….

He wasn't imagining things! Her heart really was beating! Her vitals had slowed to a crawl, but she was alive! Thank the gods!

The ice lost its' support and the statue fell on its' side, shattering to pieces and freeing the two beings frozen inside.

Hiccup, Kaskae and Kappiataitok were at Toklo's side in a matter of seconds and were ushering her into a sitting position. Her skin was cold and still covered with frost, but it was quickly warming back up. Her eyes opened and Hiccup was never more relived to see that familiar shade of brown staring back at him. She shivered and smiled.

"Welcome back to the land of the mortals." Hiccup greeted.

"Ahhh… doesn't feel like Midgard. I must be on Niflheim." Toklo groaned.

Hiccup laughed, "Don't worry; we'll get you warmed up soon." A shuffle of a nearby sleeping dragon brought Hiccup back to the reality of their situation however, "Right now though, we need to get you out of here. Come, up you go." Hiccup encouraged as he grabbed her bow and pulled her up onto her feet. It seemed she was having a little bit of trouble walking on her own, so Hiccup supported her weight for her.

Toothless nudged Karpok onto his back and then the group began the trip back to the outside, away from whatever danger they were in.

o~0~O~0~o

Several growls arose and echoed off the stone walls as the dragons disappeared around a corner. Astrid, Eret and Valka quickly ran to catch up and see what was going on.

Quicksand and the Nadder had their teeth bared and wings raised in a threatening manner. In front of them stood about 30 people dressed in white armour. Leading the group was a familiar sight, a certain Night Fury and his rider.

What was even more surprising then Hiccup's sudden appearance was who he was holding onto. The woman appeared weak, but somehow, Toklo was very much alive.

It surprised them all, even Valka, "She survived?" she gasped. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but that means bad news for us." Eret said, "She almost whooped our butts the first time and now there's a lot more of em."

Hiccup whispered something to Toklo before he handed her off to one of the warriors, a tall man with greying hair. Then he turned and began walking towards them with the Night Fury and about half of the warriors as back up.

Quicksand and the Nadder began growling threateningly, but were unwilling to start a fight with so many opponents bearing down on them. Instead they tried their best to put themselves between the newcomers and the three human residents of the Nest.

The warriors and the Night Fury stopped just before the dragons, but Hiccup walked right past them, despite the snarls of aggression. Quicksand attempted to blast Hiccup with a fireball, but a plasma blast from Toothless impacting the ground underneath his feet took the fight out of him.

Astrid, Valka and Eret were silent when Hiccup stopped in front of them. First, he gave Eret a critical eye, "Seems you've chosen your side." He commented when he noticed Eret's swords and the damage Toklo's arrows had done to them. Then he glanced Astrid's way. She almost looked naked without her axe, it was just seemed wrong for her to be seen without it. Quicksand didn't seem to like Hiccup staring at his rider and maneuvered himself between Astrid and Hiccup, despite the fact that it opened himself up to an attack from Toothless.

"Hiccup?" Astrid questioned, doing her best to ignore the Sand Wraiths attempts to keep the two of them apart, "What is going on?"

He thought for a moment, trying to decide if he should answer her or not, "Something that will decide the fate of the world and our place in it." He answered before turning his attention to Valka, "So you are the woman who claims to be my mother."

"Hiccup, I…"

"Prove it." He demanded.

"What?" she asked.

"Prove that you are my mother."

She thought for a moment on how to best answer her son's question, "That scar," She pointed to the mark on his chin, "I was there the night you received it. Back then, Berk was a land of kill or be killed, but I believed peace was possible. It was a very unpopular opinion. Then one night, a dragon broke into our house and found you in the cradle. I rushed to protect you, but what I saw… was proof of everything I believed. He was playing with you. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected my own. When he noticed me watching, he scratched you by mistake, making you cry, but him and I seemed to come to an understanding in that instant. Then your father had to come in and ruin everything, He grabbed you, and the dragon grabbed me, but Cloudjumper never meant to harm me. He must've thought I belonged here, in the nest. That isn't a story you'll hear from any other Viking."

Hiccup looked away, "That… means nothing." He seethed.

"What?"

"All you've proven is that you were there, nothing more. A mother would have never left her son. She would have comforted him when he needed it most, not left him to suffer at the hands of others, just because he was different. She should be there for him, but you chose to stay away!"

Valka shied away at his tone, but did her best to defend her actions, "It broke my heart to stay away, but I believed you'd be safer if I did."

Hiccup turned on her with anger in his face, "You believed I would be safer? YOU LEFT ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR ZONE AMOUNG A PEOPLE I WOULD NEVER FIT IN WITH! I was small, weak… useless when it came to fighting off both dragon and Viking. IT'S A MIRACLE I SURVIVED AT ALL.

I went 20 years believing my mom was dead. Today I learned I was wrong, I have no mother."

Shocked, Valka fell to her knees. Her child had just alienated her and it cut deeply. Hiccup drew his sword and raised it high, but she didn't react. A purple flame presented itself and fell down upon her. Still, she did nothing. The only thing that saved her was a flash of silver as Eret met Hiccup's sword with his own. Metal clanged against the ground as his sword fell in two, but it was enough to deflect a killing blow away from its' target and draw Hiccup's attention from his mother.

Undeterred by the fact he was down to a sword and what was left of a hilt, Eret swung his remaining weapon at Hiccup again. Hiccup raised his right hand to block the weapon. The sword clashed against the metal and Hiccup felt, more than saw a piece of metal go flying off of the gauntlet.

The two paused their duel for a split second and parted. Astrid tried desperately to intervene and keep Hiccup from doing something that he would regret, but Quicksand was doing a good job of making sure his rider stayed out of danger.

Eret however was still in the fight and had caught Hiccup's expression. It radiated pure anger. Apparently, finding his mother again had struck a nerve and as a result, he wasn't thinking properly. He just wanted blood. This was both a good thing and a bad. He could probably outthink his opponent, but if he messed up, there would be no mercy. It was enough to make the Nadder nervous for her charge, but the men with swords and spears aimed at her had more of her attention at the moment.

Eret swung his sword at Hiccup's head and Hiccup met his blade. Once again, the Nightshade steel easily cut through the iron, but this time hiccup's blade had managed to slice through his clothes and lit his shoulder on fire.

The Nadder squawked and turned her back on the warriors for the first time since the stand off had begun. She flew away and grabbed Eret in her talons as the man tried desperately to put out the flames, retreated a safe distance away. Just like that, the two of them had been removed from the situation.

Hiccup was still seething with anger and his hand still yearned for blood. Valka had still not moved, so he made his way back to her.

Astrid had had enough. She leapt over Quicksand's saddle and approached Hiccup. The Sand Wraith made a desperate lunge for his rider, but was stopped when Toothless jumped on him and pinned him to the ground. The two dragons had a similar body style, but Toothless wasn't feared for nothing, he was easily stronger than most dragons, including the smaller Sand Wraith. Quicksand wasn't going anywhere.

Astrid reached her hand for Hiccup's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, "Hiccup!" She called.

Hiccup still wasn't thinking and when he felt the pressure restricting him from his prey, he reacted violently. His arm turned and his claw shot out.

"Urk!"

Astrid tried to yell, but the blades sticking through her neck made it so she was unable to, so instead she grabbed the blades with her hands in an attempt to pull them out. Blood quickly covered both her chest and arms.

Hiccup's face of pure hatred slowly turned to horror as he stared into the woman's painfilled, terrified eyes. Eyes that never left his own. He slowly retracted his claws back into his gauntlet as he realized what he had done. Astrid fell to the ground, limp as could be.

He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand looking at what he'd done, so he turned away from the scene and ran. He ran as fast as he could to just get out of there and forget that this had ever happened. The Tuuluuwaq'Atka's stood their ground for a moment, not really sure what to do, but when Toothless took off after his rider, they all started running too.

o~0~O~0~o

Something was yelling at her, but her pain was still too much to bear. She didn't want to let anything in at the moment.

The yelling got louder, trying to pull her from her grief. Slowly she started making sense of the noise.

"Valka!"

The shout finally made it through and she turned to see Eret bending over Astrid's prone form. What was left of his shirt had been torn to shreds and had been wrapped around Astrid's neck and under her arm. It was covered in blood, the sight of which was enough to startle Valka back to her senses.

"I think I've stopped a majority of the bleeding," Eret told her, "but we need to get her some real help soon or she will die. Do you know of anyplace where we might be able to go?"

Valka shook her head, there was no place around that would accept a couple of dragon riders. They'd be killed before they got on the ground.

"Come on Valka! Think!" Eret yelled, "There has to be somewhere! She has no chance here. Where is the best place we can go to give her one?"

There was one place that was a smaller risk than others, but only because of their nationality, but how would they react? No, she couldn't go back. It would be suicide.

"VALKA!" Eret yelled in a pleading way.

No, she had to if they were going to save Astrid, "Berk." Valka mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I said Berk. Astrid's best chance is at Berk."

Eret nodded, "Good, let's get going."

He turned to get Quicksand ready for the trip, but the Nadder was in his way. He smiled at her and decided to try something the girls had told him about. He raised his hand near her snout, "Thank you… for saving my life. Now, can you help me save hers?"

The Nadder's snout met his hand. Ok, this was pretty cool.

o~0~O~0~o

They were safe back on Dragon's Edge, the three world leaders had arrived and members of the Tuuluuwaq'Atka were making sure everyone was safe, but there was something wrong with Hiccup. Toklo feared for him. He'd shut down ever since the confrontation with Astrid and his mother. He'd done nothing as the Night Fury was made ready to sail and stayed silent during the whole trip back. Even worse, as soon as they had made it back to safety, Hiccup had locked himself in his room and let no one in.

She was ready for bed, but wanted to make sure Hiccup was ok first, so she went to his room and knocked on his door, but received no answer. She tried the door knob, but it was locked. Undeterred, she withdrew a knife and jammed it in the door jam to force it open. Toothless was curled up in the corner was watching her as she entered. He cooed happily at her. She smiled. She was lucky in that way. If it had been anyone else, they would probably be dead already.

Hiccup was standing at the window, gazing out into the night. It was a rare sight to see him without his armour, but here he was, standing in nothing but a pare of pants. When she walked up next to him, she could clearly see the dried tears on his face in the moonlight and the cool night air was making him shiver, so she put a comforting arm around her shoulder. They stood there like that for a long time.

"One of the springs broke." Hiccup finally said.

"Hmm?"

"One of the springs controlling the claws on my gauntlet broke. The middle claw never pierced her, just the outer two. She has a chance at survival."

"Oh." Toklo said as she noticed the piece of armour on a nearby table. Like he had said, two blood-soaked claws had been engaged, but the middle claw still remained in its' cradle.

"She's gone though. I can feel it. She'll never be part of my life again."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Toklo asked.

"What do you mean."

"You two never had the same goals in mind. It was always going to end in conflict, you knew that. All she wanted was to protect the place you've sworn to destroy."

"I was thinking of sparing it actually."

"What?"

"Astrid was proof things could change. She was the epitome of a Viking when she was younger, hailed to be the next great dragon slayer of our generation… and then she changed. I showed her a different way and she embraced it. I guess in a way, she was hope for me. One last part of my past that hadn't betrayed me and a hope that I could reclaim it. But now, she's gone… and so is my last chance at going back."

Toklo was silent, not really sure what to say.

"But I still have you." Hiccup continued, shocking Toklo for a second. "When you disappeared, my whole world collapsed around me. All I wanted was to get you back and make whoever took you from me to pay dearly. Astrid was gone just as long, but I didn't care. You are more than just my second in command. You are Toklo, fearless warrior of the Tuuluuwaq'Atka's, wild, adventurous, strong and…"

"And what?" Toklo asked.

"And the woman I think I've fallen in love with." He said before caressing her cheek with his hand and turning her head to face him. Then he captured her mouth with his own. Toklo tensed, as she was unprepared for the kiss, but quickly melted into it. After a few desperate, passionate seconds, they parted, gasping for breath.

"I love you too." She smiled, "I've been waiting for this day for forever."

Hiccup smiled, "Then let's not waste any more time." He said as he kissed her again. This time Toklo was ready and gladly accepted the kiss. He embraced her and drew her in close. She could feel the warmth from his body as her hands began exploring his bare back and chest. Her fingers traced over his muscles, but what she found really entrancing were the scars. There were a few from when he was a kid and the other Vikings had bullied him and the three deep gashes in his chest from when he'd fought the Monstrous Nightmare in the kill ring. There were even a few that she had given him during training. But what enthralled her about them was the story they told, one of a man who had been beaten down repeatedly, but had gotten back up each and every time and built himself into something no one could contend with. He was a mere reflection of the boy he had once been. He was a man now, and he was hers.

With a smirk, Toklo broke their kissed and pushed Hiccup onto the bed before climbing up after him. He smiled mischievously and it only made her heart rate increase more. She climbed over top of him and began kissing him even more fervently than before. She could smell him. The smell of fresh air and iron, and she liked it.

When her hands started exploring a little lower and Hiccup began lifting up her shirt, she was vaguely aware of Toothless disappearing through the open window, but she couldn't care less at the moment. She was with Hiccup and nothing else mattered.

This just felt too… right.

 **(A/N) Just one quick stroke of the keys and a character can be removed from this story forever. You don't know how tempting it is for me to do so. My fingers are just itching to write that certain string of words. Oh, blast it all anyways, I hate plot armour sometimes. Maybe I need to get myself a Death Note or something like that.**

 **Also, I know a few of you are going to be really mad, so I figure I should explain myself a little.**

 **Astrid has been stabbed… by Hiccup… sorry… Ok, I'm not sorry. This scene has been in the works for so long. It was actually one of the scenes that inspired this story. It was always going to happen ad you don't know how exited I am to have finally gotten here. I think it is the perfect way to signal Hiccup and Astrid finally parting ways and setting themselves up on opposing sides. Think back to the prophecy at the beginning even, it showed a dragonesque figure in black fighting Astrid. Hiccup was always mean to be that figure.**

 **Speaking of which, I probably just lost a bunch of Hicstrid supporters. I am kind of sorry, but it has been hinted heavily that this story was going to be Tokup/Hiclo (I don't know, you guys decide). I just feel that the Hiccup of Disturbed Reflections has changed too much to end up with Astrid. I mean the very core of his being has been completely changed around in this story. Even before Toklo was ever even thought up, Hiccup was never meant to end up with Astrid. My original plan was for him to remain a bachelor for his whole life and never really settle down. So sorry if I've made a few of you upset over this turn of events.**

 **Oh, I haven't lost you yet? Good. As for Toklo being unfrozen, I do have some canonical evidence to support this. The first item of evidence I present to the court is the Skrill. Yes, I know it's a dragon that is know to have a special ability to survive being frozen, but what the Skrill demonstrates is that being frozen doesn't always mean death in the HTTYD universe.**

 **The second piece of evidence I would like you to turn to is the final battle in HTTYD 2. As you know, Hiccup and Toothless were shot with an ice blast by Drago's Bewilderbeast and yet both of them survived. However, this was a very short amount of time, and doesn't prove conclusively that Toklo would have been able to survive. At best, we can say from both of these two pieces of evidence that a human can survive being instantly frozen for a few seconds, as that is all it took for Toothless to break them out of the ice.**

 **So, I present to you for consideration my third and final piece of evidence. Something that could be the single greatest piece of Bewilderbeast foreshadowing that often get overlook in my opinion. I would like you to turn your attention to a HTTYD short film called Insert drastic voice here 'THE LEGEND OF THE BONEKNAPPER'. IF you recall, in this adventure, Gobber tells the teens a number of horribly exaggerated stories, but I believe one of them wasn't embellished in the slightest. The treasure that Gobber is talking about for a majority of the short was first acquired after he found… wait for it… AN ARMY OF FROZEN VIKINGS. Not only that, but he was punched in the face by one of them… twice! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure the only thing capable of such a fest is a Bewilderbeast. And at least one of the Vikings was alive while he was in there. We have physical evidence even as Gobber is missing his tooth, a story that could be collaborated by his friends. (AT the very least, his friends could establish that he lost his tooth during the trip)**

 **So, with all three pieces of evidence taken together, I say that it is probable that a human being in the HTTYD universe could survive being frozen instantly by a Bewilderbeast for long periods of time. Which means… Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn… Johann didn't die at the end of Race to the Edge! He can come back to wreak havoc with the island of Berk once again!**

 **That, or maybe I'm just too much of a Nerd. You guys decide. In any case, I'd love to hear what you guys think of this chapter and my theory. Let's see if we can get to 50 reviews for this chapter. Yes, I know that's a lot, but we have 357 followers and 315 favourites at this time. I think we can get there and if we do, I'll do my best to get you guys out another chapter next week. Good luck.**


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